


To Dye For

by an0neemouse



Series: To Dye For [1]
Category: EXO (Band), SHINee, Super Junior
Genre: A Lesson in Chemistry, Bakery AU, Banter, Brothers AU, Cafe AU, Chanyeol's friends are assholes, Doctor's Office AU, Drinking, Fluff, Funny, Hair Dye, Humor, I'll Take Care Of You, M/M, Mild Angst, Mild Language, Out of Control, Party, Soumate AU, Student AU, Sweet On You, a hot cup of steaming love, coffee shop AU, feel good story, hair color soulmate au, head over heels, mild thematic elements, nothing mature here for once, slightly crackish, to dye for
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-16
Updated: 2018-12-19
Packaged: 2019-06-11 08:56:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 28,930
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15311973
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/an0neemouse/pseuds/an0neemouse
Summary: Soulmate AU where everyone has a streak of hair that is the color of their soulmate's.  Chanyeol can't handle how often his soulmate dyes his hair.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I decided to go back and make all the chronological parts chapters of the same part. Prequels like Chen Min and Kai Soo will be separate parts in the To Dye For universe.

"No."

Kyungsoo shoots a sideways glance at the closed door to the bathroom and snuggles in a little closer to his boyfriend's side.

"No!"

"Is he okay?" Kyungsoo asks, dark brows lowering in concern.  They can hear shuffling and banging and the low rumble of constant complaint floating from behind the closed bathroom door.  

Jongin tightens his grip on Kyungsoo and rubs a comforting hand along his arm.  "He's fine."

"You've got to be kidding me!"

"He doesn't sound fine." Kyungsoo says eyes flicking to the still closed portal.  He and Jongin have been together for a couple months and although they’ve spent time off and on at Jongin and Chanyeol's shared apartment, this is a side of Jongin's rokmroom that Kyungsoo hasn't yet seen.  Chanyeol is usually so affable.  A bit of a dope to be honest.  Hearing him screech and curse is alarming to say the least.  But Jongin is taking it in stride so this must be routine enough and Kyungsoo tries not to jump when the next loud exclamation fills the air but he fails.   

"This cannot be real!"

Heaving a sigh Jongin extricated himself from Kyungsoo's grip and pushes up from the couch.  He pads across the tiny living room and little hallway to where the bathroom sits and gives a sharp wrap on the wood with his knuckles.  "Oy!  You're freaking out my boyfriend!"

The door is wrenched open and there stands Chanyeol, hair messy and on end, color high in his cheeks, and chest heaving.  His eyes scan the room and he sees Kyungsoo sink a little lower on the couch, trying to look as small as possible.  Chanyeol sucks in a great breath and tries to calm himself but all he can think about is his hair and before he knows it he's yelling again.  "That son-of-a-bitch dyed his hair again!"

It's on he tip of Jongin's tongue to dismiss the older man's distress because this happens about once every couple weeks, but he knows the ever changing streak of color right in the front of his hair drives the tightly controlled Chanyeol insane and so he pats the other man on the shoulder and tries to be sympathetic.  This time it’s a neon blue streak of hair in his otherwise uniformly brown locks. "Whoever they are they do change their hair color a lot.  The blue is nice though."

"I had only just gotten used to the pink!" Chanyeol cries burying his fists in his hair and giving a tug. When he pulls his hands away he looks truly deranged, hair sticking up in all different directions.  "Why does he do this?"

"You assume it's a 'he.'" Jongin points out looping an arm around Chanyeol's shoulders and steering him towards the couch.  Kyungsoo budges up to make room when both Jogin and Chanyeol fold their lanky frames on to the soft surface.  

"My soulmate can't be someone I'm not attracted to." Chanyeol grumbles allowing Jongin to dote on him a little.  "Although why that doesn't extend to hair color, I'll never know."

“Maybe the universe thinks you need a little color in your life.” Kyungsoo pipes up. This is rich coming from him. His hair is natural black and most of his clothes match. It was only after Jongin died his own hair a light caramel color that the little patch of black showed up and he even knew he had a soulmate. 

Chanyeol shoots him a withering look from the other side of Jongin. 

Jongin sighs and smacks them both lightly upside the head. He turns first to Kyungsoo, “Don’t antagonize him,” then to Chanyeol, “Be nice to my boyfriend.”  
Rubbing the back of his head Chanyeol sags in defeat. “Why can’t he just leave his hair alone?”

~*~

“There is no friggin way my soulmate is this incredibly boring!” Baekhyun grumbles rinsing the last of the blue dye from his hair and eyeing the resolutely brown patch disdainfully. “Are you seeing this?”

“I see it.” Tao says humoring his friend. His own hair is platinum blonde with a single streak of black right through the bangs. It looks edgy and suits the sharp angles of Tao’s pretty face. Somewhere his own soulmate, whoever he is, is running around with the opposite. The symmetry pleases him. “What do you think he does for a living?”

“Probably something boring.” Baekhyun fusses standing up from where he had been bent over the sink and scooping up his hair brush. He tries combing it every which way he can think of but no matter what he does he can’t seem to hide the boring brown streak. “He’s probably an accountant.”

~*~

“Seriously, dude.” Yixing says eyeing Chanyeol’s new blue streak at work on Monday. “You’ve got to find your soulmate just so you can tell him to stop dying his hair.”  
Chanyeol would like nothing better than to do exactly that but he hasn’t found him yet and so he’s stuck having an ever-changing lock of rainbow hair. He grits his teeth. “There’s not much I can do about it.”

“I don’t know how your patients take you seriously.” Yixing adjusts his suit jacket and settles a little more comfortably into his desk chair. 

“They’re not superficial jerks.” Chanyeol shoots back shrugging on his white coat and carefully placing his stethoscope around his neck.

“It’s a good thing you’re in family practice though,” Yixing points out, “Kids don’t care but geriatrics might.”

“I’m not the only person with an unruly soulmate!” 

“The only one here.” Yixing points out mercilessly. His hair is caramel with a streak of dark brown. It looks so much more professional than Chanyeol’s bright blue streak, and he only watches the front desk! Chanyeol is the one actually meeting with patients. The other doctors and even the nurses in the office have equally sedate swaths of color in their hair. Only Chanyeol has a crazy soulmate. It’s enough to make his teeth clench. 

“Go file something.” Chanyeol snarks snatching up the file he needs and stomping across the lobby towards the hallway that leads to the clinic proper. It’s Yixing’s goal in life to drive him insane and he does it well. Irritation floods him and he grumbles to himself, finally getting his office open and settling in the comfy swivel chair at his desk. He has half an hour before his first client arrives, he sucks in a deep breath. Better get his mood under control before then. 

~*~

“You’re brighter than the cakes!” Xiumin tells Baekhyun when the younger man enters the back door of the bakery bright and early on Monday morning. The display case out front boasts an array of each man’s handiwork but none of the colorful fondants or icings can rival Baekhyun’s hair for brightness. “It looks good!”

“All except Mr. Boring’s streak.” Baekhyun grumbles tying on his apron and flipping through the order book. “You’d think it would kill him to add some color.”

“We’ve got a bit of a challenge for us today.” Xiumin tells him seeing him looking through the order book. “Mrs. Jung ordered a cake that looks like a fire truck.” 

“That won’t be so bad.” Baekhyun says with a shrug. “Do we have the cakes baked at least?”

“Yes.” Xiumin says with a nod. “The trouble is that Jongdae helped me close up last night and put them in the freezer.”

“And Mrs. Jung needs them pretty soon, doesn’t she?” Baekhyun asks just knowing he won’t get off easy o n this one. It’s not Jongdae’s fault, not really. He’s Xuimin’s boyfriend and devoted as he is, he’s a bit of a spazz and lacks focus. He’s a great sport, never complaining when Xuimin dyes his hair lavender or pink or whatever other color strikes his fancy. But he doesn’t focus well and so whenever he helps at the bakery Baekhyun knows there will be errors to correct. This is just one of many.

“Ten this morning.” 

Baekhyun sighs. This means he’s going to be cutting through frozen cake with very sharp knives. Bring on the danger.

~*~

“I’m so sorry, Baek!” Jongdae says for the hundredth time in the last half hour. He had popped in at quarter to nine to say hello to Xiumin and pick up pastries for the office. His timing couldn’t have been more perfect though because no more than two minutes before he arrived, Baekhyun’s hand had slipped shaping a wheel for the cake and he had sliced an alarmingly deep slice into his left palm. Xiumin had quickly taken over, pressing a towel into Baekhyun’s hand and trying to save what he could of the cake. Thankfully most of the truck was complete and there was extra cake for new wheels. When Jongdae showed up in the middle of this chaos Xiumin had told him what happened and he immediately volunteered to drive Baekhyun to the clinic. 

Now, sitting in the waiting room he keeps apologizing to his boyfriend’s coworker. It’s driving Baekhyun nuts. “It’s fine, Dae.” 

“But this never would have happened if I hadn’t frozen the cakes!” Jongdae continues worrying his hands in his lap. “I’m so sorry.”

“Dae!” Baekhyun says trying to keep his voice down but still get and hold Jongdae’s attention. He knows he’s succeeded when Jongdae’s mouth snaps shut with a little click and he looks at Baekhyun with huge remorseful eyes. “It’s fine. I’ll live. Go back to work. I’ll get a taxi home.”

“Are you sure?” Jongdae asks hesitantly. He is massively late for work and although his bosses will probably understand after he explains, he can’t imagine how annoyed they are with him right now. 

“Positive.” Baekhyun tells him trying not to sound too eager to get rid of him. 

“Byun Baekhyun?” Says a tall nurse from the corner of the lobby. The man has dark hair with a single streak of blonde and Baekhyun immediately thinks of Tao. Hmm. Maybe this tall drink of water could be his friend’s mate? Maybe he’ll tell Tao to come here next time he gets sick, just so he can check it out.

“That’s me!” He tells the nurse hopping up with a little too much enthusiasm. To Jongdae he turns and offers one last reassurance. “Go to work, Dae. I’ll be just fine.”

“Okay.” Jongdae concedes getting up too. “Make sure you keep me and Xiumin in the loop. He’ll want to know you’re okay.”

Baekhyun knows this means that Jongdae will want to know he’s okay too. It’s sweet even if Jongdae’s been driving him insane for the last half hour. “I will.” He says and goes over to the nurse. “I’m Byun, Baekhyun.”

~*~

Ten minutes later Baekhyun is sitting on one of those solid block table-beds covered in tissue paper waiting for the doctor. The nurse, as he had learned, was named Yifan. In the five minute he had talked to the man he had been given the impression of cool efficiency and he really can’t help but think the man would be perfect for Tao. He has every intention of calling up his friend and telling him about him just as soon as he gets home. He’s so lost in his matchmaking thoughts that he doesn’t look up immediately when there’s a knock on the door and the doctor walks in. 

“Byun, Baekhyun?” The doctor asks absently, head bent down so he can read from Baekhyun’s chart. He walks in and sits on the swivel stool so he can unlock the computer on the desk. 

The doctor has a really pleasant deep voice and Baekhyun looks up. And up. And up. Holy shit the doc is tall! But then Baekhyun’s eyes land on the doctor’s hair and his heart stops. He sucks in a sharp breath because woah, he’s gorgeous. But more importantly, he has a very familiar shade of blue streaked through his bangs. Baekhyun clears his suddenly dry throat and tries not to stammer. “Yeah. Uh- That’s me.”

“I’m Dr. Park.” The man says swiveling around in the chair and really looking at Baekhyun for the first time. It’s obvious the moment he does too because he freezes, eyes flicking up to Baekhyun’s hair and then back to his face. He licks his lips. “But um- everyone calls me Chanyeol.”

“Hi.” Baekhyun wants to kick himself. Hi? Really? Could he be any more lame?

Chanyeol seems to shake himself and it looks like he’s giving himself an internal pep talk. “Yifan informs me you sliced your hand up pretty good.”

“Yeah.” Baekhyun wishes his tongue would work right. Or his brain. Or his lungs. With effort he pulls himself together. “Uh- Cake decorating gone wrong.”

“I’ll say.” Chanyeol has stood up and pulled on gloves now, coming over and taking Baekhyun’s hand in his so that he can examine the wound. If it feels like electric sparks the moment they touch, he tries to ignore it, but Baekhyun sees the little shiver chase up the tall doctor’s spine. “You did quite the number on yourself.”

“Firetruck birthday cakes will get you every time.” Baekhyun tries to joke but it’s feeble and not even he can muster much of a laugh about it because his eyes are locked on Chanyeol’s head bent over his hand and holy shit, yes, that is exactly the same color as his own hair. 

“Yifan will be in with the supplies so we can suture you up.” Chanyeol tells him eyes flicking up to Baekhyun’s and getting stuck there. He’s cradling Baekhyun’s smaller hand in his two warm larger ones, one thumb moving in a comforting circle on Baekhyun’s wrist. “Your hair-”

“Yes?” Baekhyun can’t seem to suck in enough breath.

Chanyeol clears his throat. Now that he’s here in front of him, he doesn’t care one bit that his soulmate dyes his hair often. Those big brown eyes staring up at him from that cute angular face make him forget he was ever irritated about something as silly as his hair. “Uh- Do you dye it often?”

“Yeah, I do. The last color was pink.” He watches the doctor suck in a sharp breath and knows exactly what that means. A slow smile stretches Baekhyun’s lips. “What are you doing after work?”

“Taking you out to dinner.” Chanyeol tells him finally finding his confidence but then he realizes just how pushy that might sound and falters a little. “I mean- if you want to- I don’t mean to be inappropriate- I just- oh crap.”

Baekhyun chuckles. Chanyeol is everything he never could have imagined but the universe knew he needed. He sets his good hand on Chanyeol’s arm and feels the solid warmth underneath his palm. “I’d love to.”


	2. Out of Control

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chanyeol and Baekhyun have been dating for two months when Chanyeol decides to introduce Baekhyun to his two best friends. Unfortunately for him, his friends are jerks.

“Wow.” 

“Yeah?” Beakhyun grins and gives a little turn. “You like?”

Chanyeol’s grin is huge. “Yeah. I do. I mean, I knew you had dyed your hair,” he makes a vague gesture towards the crimson streak in his own brown locks, “but I couldn’t quite picture it. This is- wow-”

Baekhyun’s blush nearly matches his vibrant red hair he’s so pleased. It’s been two months since they met at the clinic. In that time they’ve gone on countless dates, hung out the days they didn’t go out, and just generally become utterly inseparable. “Thank you.”

“You should leave it like this for a while.” Chanyeol tells him seriously. “I could get used to it.”

“You would like it if I left my hair any color just so long as it stayed the same.” Baekhyun tells him drolly. He grabs his keys and slips on his shoes. “Where are we going tonight?”

“A little cafe a friend of mine owns.” Chanyeol tells him not bothering to address the accusation about him wishing Baekhyun would leave his hair alone, they both know it’s true. “It’s very cute and the food is amazing.”

“Does that mean I get to meet one of your friends?” Baekhyun asks linking his fingers with Chanyeol’s and tugging him down the stairs to the parking lot. 

“It does.” Chanyeol grins carefully extricating his right hand from Baekhyun’s left, tugging him around to the other side, and linking their fingers with the other hand. 

“My hand is all healed.” Baekhyun tells him holding up his left hand so Chanyeol can see it the dusky scar across his palm where the skin puckers a little. 

“Scar tissue can be sensitive.” Chanyeol tells him giving the hand in his a squeeze. “You don’t want to stretch it out and rip a new cut because you force it to move more than it’s willing.”

“It’s fine.” The shorter man flexes and stretches his hand a few times just to demonstrate but Chanyeol doesn’t care. They’re at Chanyeol’s car now anyway so he gives up and gets in the passenger seat when Chanyeol holds his door open for him. He buckles up while he waits for him to get in on the driver’s side. “You’re kind of a mother hen, you know that?”

Chanyeol gives him a mildly exasperated look and turns the key bringing the engine to life. “I’m not a mother hen. I just know how scar tissue works.”

“Seat belt.” Baekhyun reminds him when his hand strays to the gear shift. 

“Now who’s the mother hen?” Chanyeol clicks the belt in place to the sound of Baekhyun’s indignant splutters.

~*~

“Channie!” Jongin greets seeing his friend walk through the door of his boyfriend’s cafe. He gets up and gives his roommate a hug. “I didn’t know you were coming in for dinner.”

“I should have known you’d be here.” Chanyeol says with a small self-depreciating smile. So much for introducing Baekhyun slowly. He gives a little shrug and tugs the smaller man forward so he can rest his hands warmly on his shoulders. “Jongin, allow me to introduce my boyfriend, Baekhyun.”

“Did I hear ‘boyfriend?’” Kyungsoo pokes his head out from the back room, huge eyes searching the front room until they land on Chanyeol and Baekhyun. “I thought his hair was blue.”

Baekhyun sniggers a little. “I dyed it red last night.”

“Did he have a mental break down?” Kyungsoo asks his boyfriend coming over to stand with the little group at the high top table where Jongin had been lurking hoping Kyungsoo would come sit with him. 

“Just a small one.” Jongin grins. Teasing Chanyeol is his favorite sport. 

“I did not!” Is Chanyeol’s predictable protest. 

“You so did.” Jongin says leaning back in his chair so that Chanyeol can’t reach him. He’s been on the receiving end of Chanyeol’s more physical protests enough times to know this is a good move. “He stood in front of the mirror for ages just like when he dyed his hair blue-”

“I did not!” Chanyeol says again, voice rising higher. His cheeks turn red enough it almost matches the streak in his hair. Flicking a glance at Baekhyun’s smiling face, his blush impossibly deepens and he sincerely hopes the earth will open him up and swallow him whole. 

“You don’t like it when I dye my hair?” Baekhyun asks raising his eyebrows innocently. He reaches up and fluffs his crimson locks. “But I thought you said you like it.”

“He hates it when you dye your hair.” Jongin clarifies with an unrepentant grin. 

“I was there when you dyed it blue.” Kyungsoo adds, “I thought he was gonna have a heart attack.”

“I don’t react that badly.” Chanyeol argues holding up his hands as if warding off an attack. 

“So you don’t like it?” Baekhyun asks voice laced liberally with false hurt. 

“No! I do! I like it!” Chanyeol hurries to tell him. He can see Jongin and Kyungsoo shaking with suppressed laughter and he’d like nothing more than to wring their necks. “It’s that I don’t like my hair to change. You look great.”

Baekhyun taps one finger on his bottom lip and makes a big show of thinking about this. “Come to think of it, you always keep your hair the same color.”

“And that’s the way I want to keep it.” Chanyeol says with a firm nod. “This red looks really good on you though. You should keep it for a while.”

“Alright, you two,” Kyungsoo says when Beakhyun opens his mouth to argue. “You guys eating in?”

Chanyeol looks to Baekhyun who raises one thin shoulder in a shrug. “I’ll take that to mean, why not?”

“Exactly.” Baekhyun grins but then he turns to Jongin and Kyungsoo. “I never did catch your names.”

“That’s cuz the oaf is rude.” Jongin says sliding off the chair and giving Baekhyun a little bow. “I’m his roommate, Jongin. And this,” He wraps an arm around Kyungsoo’s shoulders, “is my wonderful boyfriend, Kyungsoo.”

“God, you’re cheesy.” Kyungsoo says but he smiles a pleased little smile and offers Baekhyun a bow. “You of course, are Baekhyun.”

“Guilty.” Baekhyun grins. He had instantly like Chanyeol’s friends but the way they interact with one another makes his heart happy. Maybe it’s a little silly but knowing that Chanyeol’s friends are this sweet in love gives him high hopes for the tall doctor. 

“Well it’s nice to meet you. Make sure the giant here brings you over more often, okay?” Kyungsoo tells him warmly leading a bemused Chanyeol and Baekhyun to a table in the corner. 

“Menus?” Chanyeol prompts his roommate’s boyfriend feeling a bit like he’s been stuck in a whirlwind. 

“Nope!” Kyungsoo returns grinning impishly. “Tonight I pick.”

“Cool.” Baekhyun says returning the grin. He’s never had someone pick his meal for him but there’s nothing he’s allergic to and he’s kind of excited to see what Kyungsoo brings for them. A quick glace across the table at Chanyeol’s tense face tells him his boyfriend does not share his excitement.

“What?” Chanyeol is trying really hard not to let his discomfort show but he knows he’s rather transparent when he’s stressed. Why is Kyungsoo doing this now? It had been a big enough deal for him to bring Baekhyun to the restaurant. Why does the younger man feel the need to push the envelope like this? He gives Kyungsoo a desperate look, not sure he can handle not being in control right now. “No. Soo, bring us menus, please.”

Kyungsoo is almost moved by the imitation of a kicked puppy that Chanyeol is sending his way but he stands his ground. He does, however, try to lessen the sting by altering his wording a little. “You’re my guests tonight. Let me pamper you.”

An involuntary little sound that could maybe be called a whimper slips out of Chanyeol before he can stop it. Embarrassment is quick on it’s heels. He covers his face with his hands and hazards a glance at Baekhyun where the other man is sitting across from him, watching the interaction with a bemused smile. 

“Yah! Let the control freak choose his own food.” Jongin says loudly from across the room. Both Baekhyun and Kyungsoo chortle at this but Kyungsoo shouts back that there ‘isn’t a snowballs chance in hell of that happening,’ and Baekhyun absolutely loses it laughing his fool head off.

At this point Chanyeol sincerely wishes the ground would open up and swallow him whole. He peeks out from his hands but can’t raise his eyes above the table top. It’s a small mercy that the cafe wasn’t full when they came in. The few patrons who are there are long time customers who give a curious glance at their table but then go back to their own meals, accustomed to the owner’s eccentricities and the bickering of the tall doctor and his roommate. “At least tell me what you’re gonna bring us.” 

“You’ll see.” Kyungsoo says over his shoulder already halfway to the kitchen. 

“Control freak, huh?” Baekhyun says when they’re alone and Chanyeol has more or less peeled his hands away from his face. “I mean, I knew you were fastidious but I didn’t know it ventured into full control freak territory.”

“I don’t like things to be different.” Chanyeol tries to explain. He knows it’s all in good fun but he feels about two inches tall at the minute. 

“Which explains why you apparently have a mental breakdown every time I dye my hair.” Baekhyun says with a very fond grin. The more he gets to know the taller man, the more he seems to fall just a little bit more in love. Soul mate or no, they haven’t said the words yet. It’s only been two months, it’s too soon, but in this moment they bubble up in  
Baekhyun’s chest and he almost hurts the urge to say them is so strong. 

Chanyeol opens his mouth to protest but nothing will come out. He closes his mouth slowly, almost weakly, and just stares helplessly at Baekhyun for a minute before finally nodding in defeat. “You’re hair looks great.” He says after a long minute. “I just-” He breaks off and searches around his frazzled mind for the words he wants. “I just struggle with change and the unexpected. And whenever you dye your hair it’s completely unexpected. Just when I start getting used to one color, you change it again.”

“Hmm.” Baekhyun hums tapping one slender finger on his bottom lip. He can actually understand that. For him, it’s not a big deal but he can pretty easily put himself in Chanyeol’s shoes and finds he has a goodly amount of sympathy for his soulmate. “I’ll make a deal with you then.”

“What kind of deal?” Chanyeol asks looking up sharply, almost warily. 

“I won’t dye my hair again for at least another six months,” He begins watching Chanyeol get a ridiculously hopeful look on his face. His heart gives a little lurch. “If.” Chanyeol’s face falls a little and Baekhyun’s heart turns over a little in his chest. “If you will dye yours.”

This time the sound that Chanyeol makes is very definitely a whimper. “Baek-”

“Any color but brown.” Baekhyun cuts him off reaching across the table and taking Chanyeol’s larger hand in his. The fingertips are cold and he warms them against the palm of his hand. “That’s not so bad, is it? You can choose. Just dye your hair and I’ll keep mine red for six months.”

Chanyeol thinks it over. It means more change up front but Baekhyun is willing to let him choose the color – it’s a tempting proposition. He takes so long in deciding that he’s barely given Baekhyun an affirmative nod before Kyungsoo reappears, a tray heavily laden with food in his hands. The small man comes right up to their table and slides a plate of bulgogi in front of Baekhyun and with a flourish, a plate of donkkaseu in front of Chanyeol. The tall man looks up in surprise. “I always order donkkaseu.”

“I know.” Kyungsoo says simply, a small smile playing around his mouth. 

“You tortured me just to bring me the same thing I would have ordered?!” Chanyeol’s voice raises a little in volume and pitch. Over Kyungsoo’s shoulder he can see Jongin’s shoulders shaking with suppressed laughter and he feels like he could strangle someone. “You both are assholes, you know that?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are love.


	3. Head Over Heels

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tao doesn't feel very well.

“You said you would.” 

Chanyeol can’t stop his eyes from flicking back and forth between the wall of hair dyes and his boyfriend’s stubbornly set face. “I never said anything of the sort.”

“Fine,” Baekhyun concedes rolling his eyes, “You nodded indicating you would.”

“But Baek!” Chanyeol whines and stomps his feet in an impressive imitation of a toddler throwing a temper tantrum. “I hate change.”

“There will be change tonight, one way or another.” Baekhyun tells him pursing his lips to keep from smiling at his antics. This is a side of Chanyeol that he hasn’t yet seen. It makes him seems so much younger than he is and Baekhyun finds it adorable. “Either you dye your hair, or I dye mine.”

“You’ll fry yours if you dye it again so soon.” Chanyeol protests trying to appeal to his boyfriend’s reasonable side. 

“Then you better save my hair from getting fried.” Baekhyun tells him in a no nonsense tone, leveling him with a look that says he means business. 

Chanyeol whines. “Do I have to?”

“Yes!” Baekhyun cries in exasperation. “It won’t be that bad. Just dye it a color. Any color but brown. Then we can both be boring and keep our hair the same for the next six months.”

“Promise?” 

If it wasn’t so comical Baekhyun would find it a little bit heartbreaking just how insecure and unsure the older man sounds right now. “I promise. Now what color do you want?”

Biting his lip, Chanyeol eyes the colors critically. What one should he choose? There’s black and blonde and red, but then there’s also the wild ones like blue and green and purple. Or maybe he should just bleach it, go really light. In his minds eye he pictures himself with one of those colors and an actual shiver chases up his spine. A wild thought comes to him though and he feels something like victory roar in his chest. He steps forward, fingers tracing several different boxes and then he finds just the right one and snatches it off the shelf, turning around to present his choice to Baekhyun. 

“You’ve got to be kidding.” Baekhyun says fighting his smile, Chanyeol would find a loophole. “The same red as me?”

“I haven’t had hair all one color since you started dying your hair when I was fifteen.” Chanyeol tells him with a very serious look. “Can you imagine?”

It’s Baekhyun’s turn to bite his lip. He had indeed started dying his hair young, he had barely been twelve when he first dyed it and he’d been enamored with the ability to change it ever since. “Alright.” He finally concedes. “Red it is.”

~*~

“Dude.” Baekhyun says the minute he opens the door when he gets home after helping Chanyeol dye his hair. He had enjoyed getting to see the other man’s apartment. It was small and as such it was a little hard to see where Jongin’s influence ended and Chanyeol’s began but he feels as if he got to know Chanyeol a little better just by seeing it. “You look like shit.”

“Thanks.” Tao rasps from the couch rolling his eyes weakly. His hair is lank on his head, face pale and ashen, cheekbones standing out on his face. “I feel like shit.”

“Go to the doctor you stubborn ass.” Baekhyun tells him going over and laying his hand on his forehead. Despite the harshness of his words his touch is gentle. “You’re burning up.”

“I feel so cold.” Tao says pulling the blanket around his waist a little higher. “But the fever’s bound to break soon. I don’t need a doctor.”

Baekhyun shakes his head in wonder at his friend’s stubbornness. “You do. If it hasn’t broken by morning we’re going to see Chanyeol.”

“I don’t need to see your boyfriend.” Tao tries to sound tough but his eyes are already closing, sleep crowding in. 

“Yeah, sure.” Baekhyun dismisses under his breath knowing he’s already lost the other. He shakes his head and rolls his eyes. Walking into Tao’s bedroom he grabs the heavy duvet off the bed and drags it back to the living room, carefully tucking it around his sick friend. “Get your rest, buddy. Cuz if you still have a fever in the morning we’re going to the doctor, like it or not.”

~*~

“Yah! Your boyfriend’s here!” Yixing yells sticking his head in Chanyeol’s office just to the right of the nurse’s station. “He’s got someone with him though and they look like shit.”

“Professionalism.” Chanyeol scolds making to get up from his chair. He’s got a report to finish but he can pop out to tell Baekhyun that he’ll be with them shortly regardless. 

“Finish that report, Yeol.” Kris says from the nurse’s station. “I’ll go get them in a room and tell them you’ll be there as quick as you can.”

“Thanks, Kris.” Chanyeol says with a sigh settling back in his chair. 

“Noticed you both dyed your hair red.” Yixing says eyeballing the doctor’s hair critically. “I thought he was more interesting than that.”

“Kris?” Chanyeol drops his head into his hands and massages his temples, trying to ward off the impending headache he feels coming on. 

“Got it!” Kris says coming round and looping an arm around Yixing’s shoulders, steering him towards the front lobby where he belongs. “C’mon, you. Leave Channie alone.”

“Someone’s gotta tell him how boring he is!” Yixing protests but allows Kris to propel him towards the front and plop him down in his desk. “Don’t you think he’s boring?” 

“No.” Kris hisses wishing the receptionist would quiet down. “I think he’s a professional. Something you should try.”

“Pft!” Yixing scoffs rolling his chair forward and unlocking his computer. “Boring!”

“Just print the charts for me.” Kris says wondering if headaches can be catching because he can feel one starting right behind his eyes. Stupid Yixing and his stupid chatter. No wonder Chanyeol eats asprin like m&m’s. 

Yixing eyeballs Kris’s black hair, his soulmate’s blonde streak standing out vibrantly. “You’re boring too aren’t you?” 

“Print the charts, Yixing.” Kris grits out through clenched teeth, practically towering over the seated man. 

“I mean, I don’t know what’s worse. Never dying your hair or dying it boring brown and leaving it that way for ages.” Yixing says ignoring the other man. “You two are quite the pair. Are you sure you and Channie aren’t soulmates? You’re both so boring!”

“Print. The. Charts.” Kris growls losing his patience. He crosses his arms to keep from strangling his coworker. Do no harm, he reminds himself. That’s the oath he’s taken. Sometimes Yixing makes that awfully hard to uphold. He flicks a glance across the lobby and sees Baekhyun seated with a tall slim man with blonde hair, the latter leaning heavily on Baekhyun’s small frame. “There’s sick people who need tending to. Gimme the charts so I can get to tending.”

“Like I said, boring.” Yixing says with a dramatic sigh. 

“Yixing-”

“Chill out, dude. Here’s your charts.” Yixing says handing over the forms. “Go forth and cure the world of illness, Superman.”

“I hate you.” Kris tells him seriously taking the charts and stomping away to grab a clipboard. He glances at the name on top. ‘Huang Zitao.’ Must be a friend of Baekhyun’s. 

Pulling open the door to the lobby he wastes no time in greeting Baekhyun and his sick friend. “Hey guys. C’mon back. I’ll get you set up and then Chanyeol will come work his magic.”

“Thanks, Kris!” Baekhyun grins standing up and heaving Tao to his feet with him. He’ll never admit it but Tao’s weakness has him worried. The tall man is usually energetic and snarky, not apathetic and drooping like he is now. He hadn’t slept much the night before, getting up every couple of hours to get Tao’s temperature and to push liquids. “He’s never this apathetic. It’s proof of how sick he is that I even got him here.”

“Only because I’m too tired to fight you.” Tao says weakly leaning heavily on his friend so that he’s bent more than a little at the waist. “Why are you so short?”

“Oh sorry-” Baekhyun snarks rolling his eyes. “I’ll be sure to grow before you get sick again.”

“You do that.” Tao mumbles sleepily. 

“Ass.” Baekhyun says but then Tao seems to lose his footing a little and he’s taking most of the other man’s weight on himself and his worry spikes. “Hey, buddy. Hang in there.   
We gotta make it down the hall before you collapse.”

“How long has he been sick?” Kris asks swooping forward to help. He grabs Tao’s other arm and loops it over his shoulder so that he’s taking the brunt of the sick man’s weight. 

“Let go, Baek. I’ve got this.” 

After supporting his friend all the way to the office Baekhyun is only too happy to let Kris bear the brunt for a little bit and allows the tall nurse to take over. “He’s been sick about a week. Seemed to be getting better a few days ago but then tanked last night. He hates the doctor but I told him I’d burn his gucci if he didn’t come in with me and get looked at.”

“Little dude fights dirty.” Tao grumbles. But then his knees straighten out and he’s stretched up being supported by this tall man and his head snaps up, looking over at Kris through bleary red-rimmed eyes. “Hey, your hair is the opposite of mine.”

“Is he drunk on top of being sick?” Kris asks with a bemused smile whisking Tao and Baekhyun through the door to the exam rooms. 

“He just gets really dumb when he’s sick.” Baekhyun tells him with a fond smile. “Do you need to get his weight?”

Kris pauses by the scale and looks at Tao. “Can you stand on your own?”

“Not for people who are mean to me.” Tao tells him going full noodle and dropping all his weight on Kris just to see if the tall nurse can support him. He can. His knees go a little weak and it has nothing to do with his illness. 

“Hey, it was Baek who said you’re dumb when you’re sick, not me.” Kris protests shifting a little to better accommodate the sick man’s weight. He’s only a few inches shorter than him but he’s so light, too thin. “We gotta get you better. I shouldn’t be able to support you this easily. We probably should get your weight. Can you stand?”

Tao’s face takes on a sheepish look. “I don’t think I can to be honest.”

“Okay.” Kris says immediately, nursing skills kicking in. “I’m gonna pick you up completely, okay?”

It’s one thing to support someone like this but Tao thinks it’s another entirely to pick someone up. He may not have ever carried much excess weight around but he’s tall and lanky, long limbs unruly. He doesn’t voice any of this though, just looks blearily up at the tall nurse and asks the only question that matters. “Why?”

Kris’ handsome face lights up with a kind grin. “Because I know how much I weigh. I can weigh us both and then subtract my weight to get yours.”

“Oh.” Tao says suddenly feeling a bit shy. “I hate being weak like this.”

“Then let’s get your weight and then start getting you better.” Kris tells him shifting to scoop the sick man’s legs up with one arm, his other wrapping firmly around his shoulders. He doesn’t miss the way Tao’s arms wrap around him tightly for a moment as if afraid he’ll fall but he just tightens his grip and steps forward onto the large platform, grateful that they have a wheelchair accessible scale. “I’ve got you. I won’t drop you.” He tells him hoisting him a little higher so that he’s cradled against his chest. “Let’s see, if we subtract my weight then you’re at about 58kg. First we cure this bug you’ve got and then we had better put some meat on your bones.”

“A dinner date would be a good place to start.” Tao says in a sleepy voice, head too heavy to hold up so he just lets it fall against Kris’ shoulder, wishing he could smell so he could know what the tall man smells like but his nose is too stuffed. 

“You’re dead on your feet and hitting on me?” Kris clarifies with a bemused smile indicating with a nod of his head which room for Baekhyun to precede them into. He carries his cargo into the exam room and carefully sets him down on the raised exam table, the paper covering crinkling with the man’s slight weight. 

“Well you weren’t doing it.” Tao gripes still not opening his eyes. He can feel the tall man still standing there and it gives him comfort, knowing he won’t fall from the table. 

“Call me crazy but I don’t generally hit on patients at all much less ones who are half dead.” Kris says giving Baekhyun a look meant to ask if this was real. 

Baekhyun just grins at him. “He’s a great guy. You guys should totally give it a try when he’s better. You do have each other’s hair colors.” 

Just then there’s a knock on the door and then Chanyeol walks in, dark eyes quickly taking in the situation before him. “What do we need first, Kris?”

“I need a promise of a date or I’m leaving.” Tao says intending to sound fierce but he doesn’t even open his eyes so it detracts from the sting. 

Baekhyun opens his mouth to retort but Kris beats him to it. “You can’t even walk on your own, how are you gonna leave?”

“Don’t bother me with details.” Tao says cracking open one eye so he can look up at the nurse, pleased to see that he looks amused, intrigued even. He may be sick but he’ll never be boring. 

“Vitals first.” Kris says when he sees Chanyeol’s questioning look. “We got weight in the hall but I didn’t want to step away from the table in case he fell.”

“You go ahead, I’ve got him.” Chanyeol says stepping up to the opposite side of the table. “Why is this the first we’re seeing him, Baek? He seems really sick.”

“Because he’s a stubborn ass.” Baekhyun tells him trying not to feel chastised and failing. “He had been getting better and then tanked day before yesterday. It took that long for me to convince him to come in.”

“Blackmail.” Tao interjects from the table. He shifts one arm so Kris can get his blood pressure. 

“Fine. Took that long for me to blackmail him into coming in.” Baekhyun says a little defensively. “It seemed like a bad cold until the fever started. Even then, I had no idea he was this weak until I stood him up to bring him in.”

“Well I’m glad you’re here now.” Chanyeol says giving his boyfriend a gentle look hoping to communicate his understanding. When he’s sure that Baekhyun’s feelings are not hurt he turns his attention to his patient. “Tao. Can you sit up?”

“With or without help?” Tao mumbles eyes closed again. He can’t feel Kris next to him anymore and finds his interest in the proceedings has lessened greatly. 

“Without.” Chanyeol says hoping the sick man will take it as a challenge and prove himself to be less weak than he seems. 

“Not today, Satan.” Tao tells him with a tired shake of his head on the pillow. 

All three men in the room fight grins but it’s Chanyeol who speaks again. “Okay. With?”

“If I have to.” Tao concedes and cracks open an eye when he feels an arm slide under his shoulders and ease him up into a sitting position. Kris’ face looms close to his and he smiles a lopsided smile. 

“Okay Romeo.” Chanyeol says reaching around Kris to grab the needed instruments. “Let me see your eyes.”

The exam goes fairly quickly, Chanyeol using his light to look at Tao’s eyes, throat, ears, and even in his nostrils. When he’s done there he uses his stethoscope and listens to his lungs before straightening up and turning his attention to Baekhyun. “How long did you say he’s been sick?”

“About a week.” Baekhyun says watching Tao curl sideways so that his head is resting against Kris’ side. It’s obvious that the tall man is out of his element here, but despite Tao being sick he seems just as interested as Tao is. The idea of the two men hitting it off makes him want to smile but he focuses on his boyfriend and answers as best he can. “It seemed like a bad head cold at first but then a few days ago he seemed to be getting better and then he just tanked. Spiked a fever that just won’t die.”

“Hmm.” Chanyeol hums sharp mind moving. “Is he tired all the time?”

“All the time.” Baekhyun tells him seriously. 

“Complains of body aches?”

“Yes.”

“How about appetite?” Chanyeol presses narrowing it down in his mind. 

“Non-existent.”

“Good news.” Chanyeol says pulling off his gloves and throwing them in the waste bin. “I think I know what it is. The bad news is, I think Tao here has a bad case of strep throat. We’ll do a throat culture to be sure though.”

“What’s the treatment for that?” Baekhyun asks wringing his hands. 

“Mostly bed rest.” Chanyeol says with an apologetic look. “I’ll prescribe some antibiotics to help his body fight the infection. Other than that, it’s just important that he get as much rest as possible and drink lots of fluids.”

~*~

“You making house calls now?” Baekhyun says by way of greeting to Chanyeol when he opens the door to him a couple days later. 

“Hi.” Chanyeol greets bending down to kiss the smaller man on the cheek. “How’s Tao doing?”

“Ask Kris.” Baekhyun says stepping back so that Chanyeol can enter the apartment. “He came yesterday claiming he had a great soup recipe that will work wonders. He took over caring for Tao then. Not that I’m really complaining. It’s exhausting caring for someone for days on end.”

Chanyeol fights a smile. “Kris showed up yesterday and hasn’t left?”

“Yeah.” Baekhyun shakes his head in wonder. “He slept on the couch.”

“Well,” Chanyeol gives up fighting his smile. “They do have each other’s hair color.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are love.


	4. A Hot Cup of Steaming Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yixing falls in love. Suho is skeptical.

“So any chance-”

“No.”

“I beg your pardon?” Yixing says blinking in surprise at the man behind the counter. He hadn’t even looked up from what he was doing but had managed to shut him down completely. 

“No.” The man repeats barely letting his eyes flick to where Yixing is standing on the other side of the counter waiting for his coffee. “You were gonna ask for my number. The answer is no.”

Yixing splutters a bit and crosses his arms. “No I wasn’t.”

That brings the man’s eyes up, his look cold and assessing. “Okay. I’ll bite. What were you gonna say?”

A slow smile spreads across Yixing’s handsome face. “I was just gonna ask if there was any chance you’d add a sprinkle of cinnamon to my latte.”

The barista looks like he swallowed an egg. “Cinnamon?”

“Yeah, just a sprinkle though.” 

“Fine.” He grabs the shaker and sprinkles a bit on top, adds the lid, and slides it across to Yixing. “Large vanilla latte with a sprinkle of cinnamon.”

Yixing is quick to reach for the cup, making sure his fingers brush the barista’s as he reaches for the cup. “Thank you.”

~*~

“You’re in a good mood.”

“That’s because I had a good morning.” Yixing says taking a sip of his latte. The cinnamon had been a good touch and a nice save. Mentally he congratulates himself. “You ever gonna get rid of that boring red hair?”

“I don’t see you dying yours.” Chanyeol counters not even bothering with answering the question. This is a well rehearsed argument, one he thinks he could have in his sleep. 

“Well maybe I will.” Yixing says thinking fast. The man at the cafe has dark brown hair with a single caramel streak through the bangs. If he dyes his hair and the barista’s changes too… well, what are the odds? 

“You’re gonna dye your hair.” Chanyeol says shaking his head in disbelief. Never once in the entire time they’ve worked together has Yixing dyed his hair. 

“Yeah, I think I will.” Yixing sits down at his desk and gives Chanyeol his back, mind already back on the cute barista and off of the boring doctor behind him. He’ll try flirting a couple more times. If that doesn’t work then maybe it’s time for drastic measures. 

~*~

“Hi.” The barista greets, smile becoming a little fixed when he looks up and sees Yixing standing on the other side of the counter. There’s no one else in line either so it would be extremely rude for him to rush the customer along or pretend he hasn’t seen him. “What can I get for you?”

“Well, Suho” Yixing begins with a thoughtful look at the barista’s name badge, “I was thinking of switching it up today, what do you recommend?”

Suho is too much of a professional to show his irritation in any overt way but it’s there in the way his lips tighten and his eyebrows scrunch just a little bit towards the center, fine lines appearing between his eyes. He bites back a sigh. “What do you normally drink?”

“Vanilla lattes.” Yixing says with a shrug. If he’s disappointed that Suho doesn’t remember his order from before he doesn’t let it show. “Last time I had you add a sprinkle of cinnamon.”

“Ah yes.” Suho says the interaction coming back to him in a hurry. He knew this guy was an irritation, he just couldn’t remember why. “The cinnamon guy.”

“That’s me.” Yixing says with a lopsided grin. “What can I say? Cinnamon is delicious.” 

“If cinnamon is that good why don’t you get the same thing again?” Suho challenges with ill concealed impatience. He’s decided he doesn’t care too much about being rude. 

“Because I want to know what kind of drink you’ll come up with for me.” Yixing says letting his smile bloom in full. He can see the other man’s irritation and finds it absolutely adorable. “Won’t you make a special drink for me?”

“No.” 

“Please.” He weedles giving Suho his best puppy dog eyes. 

“No.” Suho deadpans shooting a fervent look around the cafe, hoping someone, anyone will get in line and bring this torturous interaction to a close. “Now what can I get for you.”

Yixing heaves an overly dramatic sigh. “How about this. I’ll give you an option. You can make me a special drink or give me your phone number.”

“No.” Suho’s cheeks pink but his eyebrows lower. This guy doesn’t take a hint.

“I don’t think you grasp how this game is played.” Yixing tells him cocking his head to the side and giving the barista a slow once over. He’s not very tall, slim and dressed all in black, black apron tied over his crisp black dress shirt and skinny jeans, name tag stark white against the dark backdrop. 

“I don’t play games.” Suho tells him fighting the urge to grind his teeth.

“In that case, give me your number and I’ll just date the crap out of you. No games.” Yixing tells him letting his gaze go warm. 

Suho feels like he’s trapped in an endless loop of annoying. He punches a few keys on the till in front of him and marks a cup. “Four-seventy-five.” 

Yixing smiles slow and produces his punch card. “It’s a free one today, actually.”

Feeling a little bit mutinous Suho takes the punch card and rips it in half before sliding it into the drop box beneath his till. He doesn’t say a word, just turns on his heel and goes over to the bar, pouring the desired amount of whole milk into his pitcher and aerating it so it can steam with a nice froth on top. Next he cues a couple shots and then pumps the desired syrup into the cup and adds a sprinkle of cinnamon to the bottom before sliding the cup in place to catch the strong dark coffee as it pours honey-like from the spout. When both the shots and the milk are done he mixes them, pouring the milk slow and careful so that a tiny dot of white appears in the foam at the top. He adds another sprinkle of cinnamon and slides the cup across the counter. “Large one pump amaretto, one pump hazelnut, two pump vanilla, whole milk latte with cinnamon.”

“You forgot something.” Yixing tells him reaching out to take the cup and brush fingers with Suho but the barista is wise to his game and withdraws his hand just in time. 

“What did I forget?” Suho asks letting his voice and look go frigid. He thinks he just might start screaming if the other man says ‘his number.’

“Your number.” Yixing says with a grin. 

It takes everything in him not to yell or react in any way. Instead he just stares coldly at the other man for a long minute and then turns on his heel once again, this time marching sharply to the backroom without a backwards glance. 

“Maybe next time then!” Yixing yells after him. 

~*~

“Stop looking so happy, it scares me.” Kris says giving Yixing a calculated look when the receptionist walks into the office whistling a jaunty tune. “Seriously, no one has the right to look that disgustingly happy.”

Yixing doesn’t reply just takes a sip of his latte. It’s sweet and creamy and delicious. 

“Hello.” Kris tries again waving one big hand in front of Yixing’s face. “Earth to Yixing. Come in- come in-”

“Shut up.” Yixing says giving the hand in his face a little shove. “I heard you. I just didn’t feel like commenting.”

“You didn’t feel like commenting.” Kris says incredulously. “That’s it. Who are you and what happened to Yixing?”

“Ha. Ha.” Yixing mock laughs taking another sip of his latte. It really is quite good. “I’m just focused is all.”

“On what?” Kris asks grabbing the reports from the printer. 

“On none of your business.” Yixing tells him sticking out his tongue at the tall nurse.

“I see you didn’t dye your hair.” Chanyeol says breezing in through the front door. “All talk and no action.”

“It’s not time yet.” Yixing says with just a little defensiveness creeping into his voice. 

Both Chanyeol and Kris stop and look at him. It’s Kris though who asks the question they’re both thinking. “Time for what?”

“Me to dye my hair.” Yixing tells them as if this is the most obvious answer in the world. 

“And just what would make it time to dye your hair?” Chanyeol presses flicking a glance at Kris to see the nurse is just as confused as he is. 

“Never you mind.” Yixing says wheeling his chair backwards and scooping several sheets out of the printer. He hands them over to Chanyeol. “There. Your first five   
appointments of the day. Off you go.”

Chanyeol and Kris give each other a stunned look. Never before has Yixing gotten their charts ready without at least twenty minutes of coercing. It’s on the tip of both their tongues to say something more but Yixing has already turned back to his computer, coffee in hand, so instead they just shake their heads and retreat into the back offices of the clinic leaving the receptionist to his humming. 

~*~

“You know we have each other’s hair colors right?” Yixing says the next morning when he finally reaches the front of the line and has Suho’s attention to himself. As usual he is the last one in line and relishes getting the barista’s undivided attention. 

“Don’t care.” Suho says barely glancing up from his till. “What do you want today?”

“Surprise me.” Yixing tells him with a grin leaning one hip against the counter and pulling out his wallet. He slips his credit card from its slot and hands it over. “I’ll need a new punch card too.”

Suho looks as if he’s tempted to refuse but instead he just pulls out a card with the first hole pre-punched and hands it back with the credit card after swiping it through the register. He doesn’t say a word, just grabs a cup and goes over to the espresso machine and starts working. 

“You know,” Yixing begins following the barista and talking over the sneeze-guard, “Since we have each other’s hair, we owe it to each other to at least give this a try.”

“No.” Suho says steadily over the whir of the milk steaming and the splish of syrup in the bottom of the cup. 

“C’mon.” Yixing wheedles. “You might find you actually like me. Besides, we could be soulmates.”

Suho actually snorts at that. “Not likely.”

“To which part?” Yixing grins not offended in the least. “Liking me or being soulmates?”

“Both.”

“But we have each other’s hair.” Yixing reminds him feeling this is irrefutable proof they’re meant to be together. 

Suho snaps on the cap and hands over the drink. Just as Yixing is reaching out to take it he pulls it back ever so slightly causing the receptionist to look up directly into his cold dark eyes. “Do you know how many guys with caramel colored hair come in here every day hitting on me? You’re no more my soulmate than a golden-doodle is.”

Yixing just smiles and stretches his hand out for the drink. “What did you make for me today?”

“Large one pump mocha, one pump vanilla, one pump almond latte with whole milk and whipped cream.” 

“Sounds delicious.” Yixing says taking the drink and giving Suho a mock salute. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“I can hardly wait.” Suho grumbles under his breath watching the other man leave with a jaunty step and wondering just how he ended up with such an obnoxious admirer. 

~*~

“Do we have to do this?” Chanyeol asks letting a little whine enter his voice as he stares once again at the wall of hair dye in front of him. 

“Yes.” Baekhyun says firmly, perusing the colors. “It’s been six months. You can leave your hair if you want but I need a change. Besides, you’ve got some gnarly looking roots growing out. You should at least freshen your hair up.”

“But I can keep it red?” Chanyeol checks and for the world he sounds like a child checking with his parent for permission. Baekhyun thinks it’s absolutely adorable. 

“Yes, you can.” 

“What color are you gonna do?” Chanyeol asks needing to know just how much of a change he’s in for and whether or not his hair will clash with the streak of Baekhyun’s in the front. 

“I was thinking I might go back to the basics for a little bit.” Baekhyun tells him knowing this will make Chanyeol downright ecstatic. “What do you think of black? It would go nice with your red.”

“Black sounds great!” Chanyeol says a little too quickly and then blushes to the roots of his hair. 

A lopsided smile tugs at Baekhyun’s lips and he saunters over to Chanyeol and stands on tippy toe so he can peck his much taller boyfriend on the cheek. “I thought you’d like that.”

“Yixing?” Chanyeol says incredulously when a caramel haired figure catches his eye over his boyfriend’s shoulder. 

Baekhyun swivels in surprise to see Chanyeol’s receptionist standing sheepishly at the end of the aisle. “What are you doing here?”

“Hunting elephants.” Yixing snarks seeing no graceful way out now so he takes another step into the aisle and makes a big show of looking at a couple hair dyes. “What do you think I’m doing here?”

Chanyeol lets out a little growl in the back of his throat. “Be nice.”

“It’s fine, Yeol.” Baekhyun says putting a staying hand on Chanyeol’s forearm and eyeing Yixing critically. “What’s got your boxers in a bunch, Yixing?”

“Nothing.” Yixing tries to deny but he says it too quickly and only a moron would believe him. 

“Uh-huh.” Baekhyun says in obvious disbelief grabbing a kit of black dye and the red one for Chanyeol and tossing them in their cart. “I believe you.”  
Shit. Yixing wants to back peddle but it’s too late. The last thing he wants is to discuss this with Chanyeol and Baekhyun, especially after he’s given Chanyeol such a hard time in the past. But they’re here and he’s transparent, and damnit he needs help. He looks around in panic for a minute and then just sort of spills everything. “I think I found my soulmate but he’s a skeptic and won’t even give me the time of day. At first it was fun but now it’s been a months now and I’m getting nowhere. He thinks I’m just one of many guys with caramel colored hair who hits on him and he won’t even give me a chance. I figured if I dye my hair and his changes too maybe he’ll take me a little more seriously.”

Both Chanyeol and Baekhyun blink in surprise at the other man but it’s Baekhyun who pulls it together and asks a couple questions. “And his hair is dark brown, I assume? Like the streak in your hair?”

“Yes.” Yixing kinda wants to find a rock to hide under but if Baekhyun is willing to help him then who is he to look a gift-horse in the mouth. 

“And he’s skeptical that you’re his soulmate?” Baekhyun presses sharp mind thinking fast. 

“Yes.”

“I’ve got an idea.”

~*~

Yixing feels like a million dollars when he steps in the back of the line the next day and sees that Suho has a magenta streak in his hair to match his. He has a small bouquet of flowers in hand, a slightly scraggly looking bunch he had picked from the front garden on his way to work, but Baekhyun assured him this would mean more than ones from a hot-house anyway. He waits impatiently to get to the front. Long minutes pass and all he can do is stare at the barista with whom he’s fairly certain he’s fallen in love and tap his foot to try and ease his nerves. At last he reaches the front and it’s clear the moment Suho’s eyes land on him because they go sort of round and his lips purse as if he’s sucking on a lemon. Before the barista can say anything though Yixing does exactly as Baekhyun had told him and sets the little bouquet of flowers on the counter. “These are for you.”  
Suho’s mouth swings open in surprise but then he snaps it shut quickly and gives a little nod, gathering the flowers up and putting them in a glass he fills with water from the tap behind him. In a brief move his eyes flick up to Yixing’s hair and then back to the streak in his own making him appear cross-eyed for just a moment before his eyes flick back to Yixing. “What can I get for you?”

“Surprise me.” Yixing says taking out his credit card and his punch card and handing them over. He doesn’t say anything about their hair, or the bright flowers now decorating the front counter, in fact he doesn’t say anything flirty at all. He just gives Suho a warm look and makes sure their fingers brush a little when the barista hands back his cards.   
Swallowing hard and feeling nervous for no reason Suho wants to admit, he turns and begins making Yixing his drink like always. So his hair changed with his. Well it’s got to be a fluke. Yeah, it’s a fluke. He’s just about got himself convinced by the time he’s finished making the drink. “Here you go.”

“What did you make me today?” Yixing asks feeling surprise and something warm rocket through him when he reaches out to take the drink and Suho doesn’t pull his hand away immediately like he usually does. This time the barista withdraws his hand slowly, as if he’s not sure he wants to be doing so. 

“Toffee-nut mocha with caramel drizzle and sea salt.” Suho says voice a little dazed. 

“Thank you.” Yixing says taking the beverage and taking a little sip. “Delicious. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

~*~

The next day Yixing doesn’t go to get coffee. Or the next. Or the next. Suho hates to admit that he looks every day for the annoying receptionist but that’s exactly what he does. And each day when he’s not in line he feels a little bit of disappointment he’d rather not examine sink it’s fingers into his stomach. A long week goes by before Yixing makes another appearance. This time accompanied by yet another hair change, this time a rich burgundy color. 

“Hi.” Yixing says when he finally reaches the front counter and can lay the newest bouquet of flowers on the counter. “I brought these for you.”

Suho bites his lip but grabs a cup to put them in, finally getting rid of the last bunch that had been too wilted to look good but he had been unwilling to throw out without a replacement. “I started to think you weren’t coming back.”

Yixing doesn’t respond to that, doesn’t offer an explanation, just gives Suho a warm look and lets his eyes scan the gorgeous burgundy streak in the front of Suho’s dark brown hair. Baekhyun had suggested temporary hair dyes so he could change it a few times, just to drive the point home… it had also been his idea to stay away for the better part of a week just to see if absence would make the heart grow fonder… “I missed you.”

Licking his lips Suho just sort of ducks his head but there’s none of the animosity from before and Yixing thinks he’s maybe finally made some headway. “What can I get for you?”

“Surprise me.” Yixing says handing over his cards as usual. 

Picking up the cards Suho looks at them for a minute but then slides them back without ringing anything up. Instead he grabs a cup and heads over to the bar and starts working. All the while he’s steaming milk and pulling shots he darts surreptitious little glances at Yixing and wonders why it feels like he’s seeing him for the first time all of a sudden. He’s handsome, that’s for sure. Smooth chiseled face topped with the most glorious shock of stylishly swept up burgundy hair, a lone streak of dark brown prominent in the front and just to the left of his piercing dark eyes. His suit fits his toned body like a glove and Suho has to actually tell himself to chill out when his hand starts to shake and the milk he’s frothing starts getting too big of bubbles in it. 

“Large vanilla latte with a sprinkle of cinnamon.” 

Yixing smiles when he reaches for the cup and he swears he can feel electricity shoot up his finger tips when they brush fingers. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” Suho says feeling a little breathless. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Yes you will.” Yixing says warmly not wanting to tear his eyes away from Suho. Eventually he does so and leaves the cafe with a smile and a little wave. He’s halfway to the clinic when he finally notices the extra item on his coffee cup. He stops right there in the middle of the sidewalk and pulls out his cellphone, dialing in the digits with trembling fingers. 

“Yoboseo?”

“Does this mean I can finally ask you out?”

Suho laughs into the other end. “Yes. And your answer is yes too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are love.


	5. I'll Take Care of You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sehun comes home to visit his brother over the holiday.

“Sehunnie?” Suho says in surprise coming home from work to find his little brother at the kitchen table of his little apartment. “What are you doing here?”

“Christmas break, hyung.” Sehun says with a bemused smile standing up and giving his brother a big hug. “Man, I missed you.”

“College is only an hour from here.” Suho reminds him exasperatedly but all the same he pulls his younger but taller brother into a close hug. “You could come home on the weekends, you know.”

“But bus-fare costs money.” Sehun points out letting go and grinning down at the older man. “I made dinner.”

Suho’s eyebrows rise to mingle with his hairline. “Why are you gonna poison me! Haven’t I been good to you!”

“Ha. Ha.” Sehun mocks hands on his hips. “Very funny.”

“I think I’m hilarious.” Suho tells him mildly going over to the stove and peeking into the pot bubbling merrily there. He gives a cautious sniff of the contents. It smells good.   
“What did you make, Sehunnie?”

“Just tofu soup.” Sehun says with a little shrug. “There’s rice in the maker to go with it.” 

Suho’s smile becomes a little soft. “Sounds great.”

“Did you really forget it’s almost Christmas?” Sehun asks grabbing down two bowls from the cupboard and two smaller dishes for rice. He hands the bowls to Suho so he can spoon soup into them and goes to the rice maker. 

“I’ve been a little distracted lately.” Suho admits a little sheepishly taking the bowls to the table. 

“By?”

“N-nothing.” Suho turns quickly under the guise of getting silverware but is grateful for the opportunity to hide his suddenly flaming face. 

“So what’s his name?” Sehun asks with a grin grabbing a couple glasses of water from the fridge. He loves coming home. They fall back into familiar patterns as if he had never left. 

“I don’t actually know.” Suho admits setting down the silverware and settling into his usual seat closest to the sink. 

“You don’t know?” Sehun asks incredulously giving Suho his water and then settling into his own seat across from him. “How do you not know?”

“He’s a customer.” And a pain in the ass he adds silently. 

“Then you really should know his name.” Sehun points out with a raised eyebrow. “You write names on cups. Why haven’t you written his name on a cup yet?”

“Because he irritates the piss out of me and I’m usually too busy giving him the cold shoulder to worry about good customer service.” Suho admits taking a bite of rice. “Enough about me. How are your grades?”

“So far so good.” Sehun says allowing the change in conversation. He knows how his brother gets about romance and he knows better than to push him. “I start taking Chinese next semester though and you know I’m not very good at languages.”

“Why do you need to take Chinese?” Suho asks taking a little slurp of soup. “I thought you were in the art school?”

“I am but apparently I need at least one semester of Chinese as a general education requirement.” Sehun explains with a roll of his eyes. “I asked my adviser about it and she says I can’t appreciate different culture’s art or dance if I don’t speak the language. I’m so screwed, hyung.”

“It won’t be that bad.” Suho tries to reassure but he distinctly remembers Sehun’s disastrous attempt to learn English in high school and he secretly wonders if Chinese won’t be the thing that holds his little brother back in college. “Maybe you could get a tutor.”

“Great idea.” Sehun says with a smile but then his face falls and he looks a little hopeless as he chews on another bite of rice. “Know anyone fluent in Chinese?”

“Let me ask around.” Suho says with a gentle smile. “You’re home for a couple weeks. Lets enjoy the holiday.”

~*~

“The shop is closed for the holiday?” Yixing asks when he gets to the front of the counter. He’s been pestering the gorgeous Suho for a couple weeks now, coming in daily to see him and the thought of not being able to do so over the holiday sends a surprising pang through his chest. Predictably the acerbic barista doesn’t answer, just makes a mildly annoyed gesture towards the little plaque by the register that clearly states the days the shop will be closed. 

“What can I get for you?”

“For Christmas?” Yixing gives him a cheeky little look as if he’s sincerely thinking Suho will get him a Christmas present. “Your number.”

Suho just gives him a cold blank look and rings in a total on the till. “Today was your free drink, right?”

“You remembered.” Yixing says in a dreamy voice letting his look go soft as if Suho wasn’t glaring holes through him right now. “You know what I really want for Christmas? A date.”

“Then ask someone.” Suho tells him taking the full punch card from Yixing and zeroing out the total. 

“Can I buy you dinner then?”

“Not me.” Suho gives him a dull sort of look. “I don’t even know your name.”

Yixing smiles slow and sweet, letting his eyes go warm. “I’m Yixing. Now will you date me?”

“Not a snowball’s chance in hell.” Suho goes over to the espresso machine and starts making the drink. 

~*~

“So who’s Yixing?” Sehun asks once Suho stops flailing around on the couch from him poking him awake. 

“Wha-?” Suho wipes a line of drool from his chin and sits up in a quick hurry. 

“Who’s Yixing?” Sehun fights a smile watching a blush color his brother’s cheeks. 

“How do you know that name?” Suho’s eyes dart around the room. The TV is on, the credits from their movie rolling. He must have fallen asleep. 

“You were sleep talking.” Sehun loses the battle against smiling. “Sounded like a good dream, if you know what I mean.”

“No!” It’s said too quickly and Suho can feel his cheeks burn. “It wasn’t a good dream! It was annoying! Just like he is!”

“Mmmhmm.” Sehun hums getting up from the couch and padding over to the TV so he can turn it off. “I’m going to bed, hyung. See you in the morning.”

“Sleep well, brat.” Suho tells him affectionately getting up so he can ruffle the other man’s black hair, standing on his tip-toes to do so. “See you in the morning.”

~*~

“Merry Christmas, Hyung!” Sehun yells launching himself onto Suho’s bed to wake him up. 

“You’re too old for this.” Suho grumbles sitting up and rubbing his stomach where Sehun had hit him upon landing. 

“You don’t really believe that.” Sehun throws his arms around Suho’s neck and gives his brother a big sloppy kiss on the cheek before dangling his bulging stocking in his brother’s face. “You wouldn’t have gotten me a stocking if you actually believed that!”

Suho can’t help it, Sehun is too adorable like this and he cracks a smile. “Did you open it yet?”

“Of course not!” 

“Well, what are you waiting for!” Suho chuckles scooting backwards so he can lean against his headboard. He gives Sehun an expectant look and then crosses his arms, waiting with false impatience for his brother to rummage through his stocking. 

“I’m going!” Sehun quickly pulls open the stocking and pulls out the first item, a pack of the pens he likes best. 

“It’s nothing too cool.” Suho hurries to tell him, suddenly insecure. He rubs a hand along the back of his neck and glances up at Sehun where the younger is happily rummaging in the stocking. “I- Things are a little tight- I know you needed things for school-”

“Thanks, hyung.” Sehun tells him sincerely pulling out a pack of drawing pencils, charcoals, erasers, and a mini sketch book. “These are great!”

“I know you have an art class this coming semester. I thought these might help.” Suho gives his neck another rub and then drops his hands to his lap, fiddling with his fingers.   
“There’s – ah – one more thing in there.”

Sehun’s eyebrows furrow and he shoves his arm back into the stocking all the way up to the elbow. He fishes around in the bottom and quickly finds a little piece of paper that he had missed before. Pulling it out, he blinks dumbfounded at the receipt. “Hyung?”

“I don’t want you worrying about loans and stuff.” Suho tells him quietly, knowing Sehun will put two and two together in a minute. 

“You paid off my first year of school?” Sehun’s voice is tight with awe and he can’t fight the tears that gather in his eyes. His brother has worked non-stop for the last three years just to take care of him. He had in some ways been relieved when he turned eighteen and started school, happy that his brother can maybe have a life again instead of always taking care of him. But now Suho’s gone and done this. “How?”

“I picked up a few extra shifts.” Suho tells him with a shrug. “I don’t want you worrying about money. Focus on school. When you’re rich and famous then you can take care of me.”

“Thanks, hyung.” Sehun swipes at his streaming eyes with the back of his hand. “I couldn’t ask for a better brother.”

“It’s nothing.” Suho dismisses quietly, suddenly embarrassed. He knows, deep in his heart, that if their positions were reversed Sehun would have done the same for him. “I’m sorry there’s nothing for you to unwrap this year.”

“It’s perfect.” Sehun give his brother a crushing hug, wiping the discomfort off the other man’s face. When he’s done squeezing the life out of the older he reaches behind himself and grabs a long slim package wrapped in shiny paper. “Now you open my present!”

“What’s this?” Suho asks with a smile setting the package on his lap. He glances up at Sehun in surprise. “What did you do?”

“Open it.” Sehun gives him a grin, but it’s his turn to look a little insecure. 

Suho wastes no time tearing back the wrapping but then he sees what’s underneath and freezes. Staring up at him is a picture of his parents, smiling and in love. “Sehunnie? What’s this?”

“It’s a photo album.” Sehun tells him quietly. “I know you’ve been having trouble, what with everything and me going to school. I dug through the attic over the summer and found a bunch of old pictures. I figured it might help.”

For a long time Suho says nothing. He just pushes back the rest of the paper and pages through, looking at the pictures Sehun chose for the album. The beginning is all pictures of his parents when they were dating – their hair mirror images of the other with black and brown streaks – and then in the beginning of their marriage. The middle is dedicated to his and Sehun’s childhood complete with awkward family photos and big cheesy smiles. The end is filled with more current pictures, these ones only of the brothers; the last one taken the previous summer on a trip to Busan. It was taken on a cellphone and is just a little blurry but it is Suho and Sehun smiling brightly at the camera, an arm slung around one another’s shoulders. Suho clears his throat. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” Sehun watches Suho for a minute. He doesn’t want to intrude on his quiet moment but he needs to make sure the other man knows he’s not alone in his grief. “I miss them too.”

“I know.” Suho’s voice is quiet and choked with tears. He hadn’t really realized how much he was struggling until he looked at these pictures and all the emotion he pushes down on a daily basis welled up. A tear escapes and he brushes at it. What he wouldn’t give to have his parents back? What he wouldn’t give to be able to have finished school, to be able to let his parents worry about money and rent and just everything. Most of the time he feels so lost, like he’s stumbling along and he just hopes that he doesn’t mess Sehun up too badly. But the boy in front of him is smart and kind and passionate – he’s so proud of him it hurts. “I’d give anything to bring them back.”

“Me too.” Sehun scoots up the bed and leans his head on Suho’s shoulder much like he would have when they were younger. “Can we just be lazy today?”

“Of course.” Suho leans his head against Sehun’s and flips through the photo album again. He had been a senior in college when his parents had both been killed in a car accident. Not once in the three years since has he questioned his choice to drop out of college and take care of his kid brother. Sehun had been a freshman in high school at the time. So many people had told him to let Sehun go to a foster family but he couldn’t do it – he needed Sehun as much as the younger needed him – so he got a job and worked as much as he had to to keep his brother with him. And he couldn’t be prouder of the younger, going to college in Wonju. “My boss is always after me to take a little time off. I’ll call him and take the next couple days off too so we can just hang out. And in the mean time, why don’t I make mom’s pancakes for breakfast?”

“I’ll help.” Sehun says with a grin pushing himself up and bounding toward the kitchen, effectively breaking the moment. 

Suho follows more slowly. They have each other. That’s all they need. 

~*~

“Not to be super dramatic or anything but I really missed you.” Yixing tells Suho the minute he gets to the front of the counter two days after Christmas when he finally sees the barista again. “You were gone longer than I expected.”

“I took a couple days off to spend time with my kid brother.” Suho tells him grabbing a cup and marking it with his latest creation for the other man. He’s in such a good mood from spending time with Sehun that he doesn’t even feel the need to growl at the receptionist. 

“It was lonely without you.” Yixing says chewing on his cheek. He’s suddenly aware how little he actually knows about Suho and wants nothing more than to change that. “How old’s your brother?”

“He’s eighteen.” Suho sets down the cup and rings the total up into the register. “Didn’t you spend the holiday with your family?”

“My family is in China.” Yixing tells him handing over his cash and punch card. “I was alone for the holiday.”

Something squeezes Suho’s heart but he pushes it away. He’ll settle for nothing less than the absolute love his parents had and a moment of pity is no reason to let some flirty customer into his heart. “You’re Chinese?”

“Yes.” Yixing smiles a little, seeing so much more than Suho would like him to. So the barista isn’t made of stone. Good. Even if it takes months, he’s going to get him to open up. “I came over for school and just ended up staying. Got a nice job in as a receptionist in a clinic not far from here. It’s a good gig.”

Suho nods and hands back his change and punch card. The gears in his mind clunk along like the wheels of a train as he walks over to the espresso machine and starts making Yixing his beverage. He’s got it almost done when his brain finally clicks into place and he looks up sharply at the other man, hand jerking so that a dollop of hot foam splashes out onto his hand burning him. He shakes the injured limb and blows on it for a second before snapping the lid in place and handing over Yixing’s drink. “Large two pump white mocha, two pump mocha, one pump peppermint latte.”

“You okay?” Yixing asks craning his neck so he can see Suho’s hand over the sneeze guard. 

“I’m fine.” Suho tells him rubbing the red spot with his other hand. “I’ve definitely burned myself worse.”

“Well, thanks for the drink.” Yixing shuffles his feet and takes an experimental sip, not wanting to leave just yet. Somehow Suho seems as if he doesn’t want him to go either.   
“This is delicious.”

“Glad you think so.” Suho wants to kick himself. He’d do anything for his kid brother, so why can’t he ask a simple question? 

“I guess I’ll see you tomorrow.” Yixing says with a small smile turning to go. 

“Wait-” Suho wants the ground to open up and swallow him whole. No doubt the other will demand a date in exchange for what he’s about to ask. He grits his teeth and plunges ahead. “Do you know anyone in Wonju who speaks Chinese?” He flushes bright red but then rambles on – full steam ahead and damn the torpedoes. “My kid brother has to take Chinese and he’s not good at languages. I just thought- since you’re Chinese- maybe you- do you know anyone who could tutor him?”

Yixing smiles gently, grateful that he does in fact know someone in Wonju who can help. “I think I do. Let me talk to him and get back to you, okay?”  
Suho lets out a gusty sigh. “Okay.”

“See you tomorrow.” Yixing really does leave then, walking out into the crisp winter air. He doesn’t pause or linger but if he had he would have heard Suho offer a very quiet ‘see you tomorrow’ in return.

~*~

“Study hard.” Suho says handing over Sehun’s bag so he can get on the train and go back to college. 

“I’ll make you proud, hyung.” Sehun tells him earnestly, taking the bag and slinging it over his shoulder. 

For just a minute Suho looks conflicted but then he pulls the younger into a crushing hug. “I am proud, Sehunnnie.”

Sehun doesn’t say anything for a long minute, he just hugs his brother back for all he’s worth, wishing the break had been longer. “Thanks, hyung.”

“Call me often and if at any point you want to come home, just let me know and I’ll get you a train ticket.” Suho lets go and holds the other at arms length. “Let me know what you think of your tutor.”

“I still can’t believe you really found me one.” Sehun says with a bemused little smile but then the whistle blows and he knows he needs to get on or he’ll be left behind. “Thanks for everything, hyung. I love you!”

“Love you too, kiddo.” Suho tells him watching as he boards the train and takes a seat near the window. A minute later the train is pulling out of the station and Suho stands there, waving until it’s out of sight. 

~*~

Sehun sits in the coffee shop on campus and sips his bubble tea, Chinese books spread out in front of him, and a headache blooming in the back of his skull. There’s no way he’s ever going to be able to speak Chinese. Not even a tutor is going to be able to make sense of this for him. He glances up from the books in front of him when another boy comes into the shop and bounces up to the counter, ordering a coffee and then scanning the tables, pretty face splitting into a blinding smile when his eyes land on Sehun. Butterflies hatch and take off in Sehun’s stomach. Shit. This boy is beautiful with his natural black hair and narrow face. He cannot be his tutor. He can’t be. But then the boy is walking over, smile impossibly broader, hand extended. 

“You must be Sehun.” The boy says shaking Sehun’s hand when the other boy extends it. “I’m Luhan. Yixing said you needed a tutor?”

Sehun swallows hard and nods. He’s in so much trouble.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are love.


	6. A Lesson in Chemistry

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sehun goes to college and learns a few things along the way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N:I'm so sorry this took so long for me to get out!  I kept trying to make this chapter short and cute like the others and it just would not let me write it that way.  I hope it's not too much of a departure from the usual, it just demanded to be long and a little bit more.  Anyways, a little backstory on the places in this story.  I went to Korea in 2010 as part of a study abroad program with Yonsei University in Wonju.  Several of the events in this story are written from first hand experience.  (sleeping in the aphitheater, going to the second story coffee shop in wonju, crossing the bridge to campus drunk, the global village dorms, even the salon in Wonju)  Because of this, this chapter is very special to me.  I hope you all can enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it.  (The house party is very american, I'm sorry, I didn't know how to write that.  I hope you'll forgive the cultural oversight.)

“Hyung, there’s no way this is going to work.” Sehun says into the phone later that night after meeting Luhan for the first time. “I’m so screwed.”

“What?” Alarm floods Suho and he clutches the phone to his ear as if that could make him closer to his brother. “Why? Is he not any good?”

Sehun drops his head to his desk and bangs his forehead on the hard surface. “No. He speaks perfect Chinese. Hell, he is Chinese.”

“Then what’s the problem?” Suho asks cringing a little each time he hears his brother’s head thunks against the desk. Whatever Sehun says is lost in the steady wham of skull on wood and garbled mumbling. “What?”

“I said I can’t focus on Chinese with him.” Sehun repeats finally stopping his self destruction. 

“And why is that?” 

“He’s beautiful.” Sehun squeaks out, wishing he could shrivel up and die on command. 

“He’s wha-?” Suho asks incredulously, thick brows lowering in confusion. “You can’t learn from him because he’s beautiful?”

“Oh god, hyung.” Sehun picks his head up and stares unseeingly at the desk in front of him. “What do I do?”

~*~

“Hey!” Luhan chirps pulling out the chair opposite Sehun and sitting down without invitation. “How was class?”

Sehun licks his lips and tries to slow his breathing so it doesn’t give him away. “It was good. Okay, I guess. Confusing.”

“What was confusing?” Luhan asks leaning his elbows on the table between them and resting his chin in his hands. 

“Uh-” Sehun’s eyes flick from the older boy’s mouth to his jet black hair and he wonders who this beautiful boy’s soulmate is. Probably some gorgeous girl with long black hair and bright shining eyes who speaks Chinese perfectly. “All of it?”

Luhan smiles brightly and lets out a little chuckle that sounds delightfully similar to chimes. He grabs Sehun’s Chinese book and drags it in front of himself so he can see what he’s working on. For just a minute he looks at it and then he gives a little nod of his head and shifts his chair over so he’s sitting right next to Sehun, sharing the book between them. “Okay, why don’t we start at the beginning then.”

~*~

“So have you given him your phone number yet?” Sehun asks of his brother on what’s becoming their daily phone conversation. It’s a couple weeks into the semester and Sehun’s favorite distraction from school stress is harassing his brother about his love life. 

“Have you?” Suho shoots back grabbing the bowl of popcorn he just made and settling in on the dinged up little sofa in his living room. He doesn’t scoop up the remote yet though, he’ll get to that when he and Sehun are done on the phone. Instead he just drags a fuzzy blanket over his lap and sinks sideways into one of the fluffy pillows he leaves by the arm rests.

“He’s my tutor, you know I can’t.” Sehun tells him rolling his eyes and shifting through a couple of assignments. “You, on the other hand, have no excuse.”

“He’s my customer!” Suho tells him pausing his frantic popcorn munching. 

“At this point, that’s just an excuse.” Sehun says opting to work on a little of his math homework. “You and I both know you like him. You want to give him your number. What’s stopping you?”

“You are not too old to spank.” Suho warns him but then he sighs and rakes a hand through his hair, the bowl of popcorn laying forgotten in his lap. “I don’t have any proof that he’s my soul-mate.”

“Doesn’t he have caramel colored hair and a streak of dark brown?” Sehun asks applying half his focus to the equation in front of him and half to his brother’s love life. 

“Well, yeah.” Suho kicks his feet up onto the coffee table in front of him and stretches out, remembering the popcorn bowl at the last minute and steadying it before it can tip over and spill. It feels good to rest his feet after working on them for so long everyday. “Do you know how many guys I see come in that shop with caramel colored hair and a streak of dark brown?”

“Fair enough.” Sehun concedes erasing his first attempt and starting over. “Shit, hyung. I think I need to focus on my homework. Can I call you later?”

“Of course, kiddo.” Suho says and he can hear the warmth in his voice. “Study hard. I’ll talk to you later.”

~*~

This time Luhan greets him in Chinese. Sehun responds in kind and is able to keep the conversation going when the older boy asks how he’s doing. It’s a far cry from how he had started the semester, stuttering through even the most simple of sentences. He’s not sure how he’s learned anything at all, he feels like he’s spent the entire month since the semester started doing little other than stare at his tutor. But somehow he’s managed to retain a few things. Mainly he’s learned that Luhan is incredibly intelligent, can solve rubix cubes like they’re nothing, has a tiny little scar on his bottom lip, and has a not so small fan-club of girls that follows him just about everywhere. And when he’s not studying his tutor, Sehun has managed to learn a little Mandarin in as well. 

The sound of muffled laughter reaches them where they’re sequestered at a tucked away table in the library. They can’t see anyone but both of them know members of Luhan’s fan-club have found them and are lurking in the nearby bookshelves. 

“Aish.” Luhan looks around in irritation. “I’m sorry about them. They’re so annoying.”

“It’s okay.” Sehun says quickly, turning away to hide the blush that creeps up his neck. If he were a girl he’d probably be the president of Luhan’s club. As it is he has to keep his crush a secret. His brother might also be gay and they may have gotten to know plenty of other homosexuals in college but most people still view being gay as unnatural and wrong. Most of his friends may be gay and he may have gotten to observe plenty of little things about Luhan but he still doesn’t actually know all that much about him. For all he knows the other boy would be utterly repulsed at the idea of another boy crushing on him. “Maybe we should call it quits for today.”

“What? No. We just started.” Luhan says glowering at the bookshelves. “Why don’t we just go somewhere else?”

“Like where?” Sehun doesn’t want to examine the way his heart leaps at Luhan so quickly dismissing the idea of calling it quits early. He doesn’t want to think about how painfully hopeful he feels at the prospect of spending more time with the older boy. The girls seem to know everywhere they like to go, have hounded their every step for weeks now. As much as he wants to spend more time with Luhan, he doesn’t know where they could possibly go that wouldn’t have unwanted visitors. 

“Could we go to your dorm?” Luhan asks rubbing one finger on his bottom lip in thought. “Or is it co-ed? I’m just thinking if we can go somewhere that doesn’t allow girls we can maybe escape them for a little while.”

Sehun shakes his head, eyes wide. “My dorms are co-ed.”

“Damn.” Luhan rests his chin in his hand and thinks for a long minute. There’s more tittering from the shelves and his look just becomes all the more sour. “Would it be weird if we went back to my dorm? I live in the Global Village dorms. They’re split male and female.”

A spark of hope lights in Sehun and he very quickly douses it out again. Stop that! No sense getting irrationally excited about studying. “That would work.”

“Excellent!” Luhan claps his hands together and bounces to his feet, flipping Sehun’s textbook closed as he goes so he can swipe it off the side of the table and into his hands.   
“Let’s go!”

~*~

From then on every time they study they go to Luhan’s dorm. It’s mostly quiet although sometimes his roommates are there and they like to poke fun at Luhan and tease Sehun although most of what they say is in Chinese or even English and Sehun feels lost most of the time. Every once in a while he’ll catch a word or two that he understands but for the most part he just listens and tries desperately to keep up. 

It’s in this way that the first half of the semester passes. As midterms approach the boys spend no small amount of time studying together, trying to cram in as many Chinese lessons as they can in between studying for their other classes. With all the time they’ve spent together Sehun feels almost confident when he faces his Chinese midterm and he sags with relief when he leaves the classroom after turning in his exam. 

“Hey Sehun!” 

Sehun looks up from watching his feet to see his friend Donghae bouncing towards him. The boy is older and in the music program so he doesn’t see much of him but he enjoys it every time he does. “How are you doing, hyung?”

“Good.” Donghae beams coming over and slinging an arm around the younger man. “How’d your midterms go?”

“Pretty good, I think.” Sehun tells him smiling lopsidedly at his friend. The older man is in his late twenties because he had chosen to do his military service straight out of high school and as such had to postpone college. For whatever reason he had immediately taken a liking to Sehun and had sort of taken the younger man under his wing. Sehun doesn’t mind one bit, he appreciates the attention and care. It makes him a little less homesick for Suho’s care. “The only one that’s a toss up is my Chinese exam.”

“Chinese?” Donghae asks guiding Sehun through the halls towards the performance arts building. They stop outside a dance room and watch the inhabitants within do a final run through of the dance they’re learning, one of whom is Donghae’s boyfriend Hyukjae. “Why are you taking Chinese?”

“Apparently it’s a requirement.” Sehun shrugs. “I got a tutor though. That’s helped a lot.”

“Your tutor’s good then?” Donghae asks looking over at the younger man in time to see a slight tinge of pink dust his cheeks. 

“Yeah. He’s been really helpful.” Sehun tries to play it cool but he knows he horribly transparent. The longer he’s spent time in Luhan’s dorm and listened to his friends tease the two of them, the more he’s pretty sure he’s learned a new word in Chinese. Boyfriend. Every time he hears the word Luhan throws something at whoever said it and Sehun has to tamp down his disappointment that his tutor seems so utterly repulsed by the idea.

“You seeing him this weekend?” Donghae presses, a teasing lilt to his voice now. 

“No.” Sehun tells him quickly, twitching a little in the older man’s grasp. “There’s no need this soon after mid-terms.”

Donghae chuckles and waves for Hyukjae to come over now that their dance is finished. “You wanna come to a party with me and Hyukkie then?”

“Oh that would be fun!” Hyukjae says coming over and dropping a quick peck on Donghae’s cheek before reaching out to ruffle Sehun’s hair. “You should come with us.”

“That’s really nice but you guys don’t need a third wheel.” Sehun tells them feeling happy just to have been included in the invitation. 

“You wouldn’t be.” Donghae tells him giving his shoulders a squeeze. “It’s kind of a big party. There’s gonna be a ton of people there. You won’t be a third wheel.”

Sehun isn’t sure if it’s a good idea or not so he just hums noncommittally and tells his two hyungs he’ll think about it. They make their way to the cafeteria next, putting in orders for their desired meals and going to claim a table with some mutual friends.

“Hey guys! Hey Sehun!” 

“Hey Jinki. How’d your midterms go?” Sehun asks settling in next to the man and nodding to the others at the table. 

Jinki gives a shrug. “Pretty good, I think. Yours?”

“Good.” 

Just then all the numbers for their food are called. Jinki pops up. “I’ll get it.”

“I’ll help.” Sehun volunteers following after the older boy so they can bring the trays back to the table.

Donghae and Hyukjae settle into seats on the other side of Jinki, completely ignored by the other two at the table who after taking a second to nod at Sehun went right back to making out. Unimpressed Hyukjae reaches out and smacks Key on the back of the head causing his and Jonghyun’s foreheads to clack. They finally pull apart with a sound similar to a plunger being pulled from a drain. “Ow.”

“Keep it PG in front of our Sehunnie.” Hyukjae tells him sternly. “Besides. The world doesn’t need to see you and the dino here making out.”

“The world wishes they could see me and Jong making out.” Key shoots back with a smirk. 

For his part, Jonghyun has the good grace to blush and puts a stilling hand on Key’s forearm. “Behave, Kibummie.”

Eyes wide with mock innocence, Key looks at Jonghyun, lower lip jutting out in a pout. “I am behaving.” 

“You’re an idiot.” Donghae tells the younger man reaching out and doing the same thing his lover had done not too far previous and landing a well aimed smack to the back of Key’s head. The younger man just scowls and rubs the back of his head. “Are you guys going to the party tonight?”

“I am.” Jinki says setting a tray laden with food down on the table and beginning to divvy it out. He slides a bowl of bibimbap in front of Key and a plate of donkkaseu in front of Jonghyun, pulling the remaining dakgangjeong in front of himself. “Mmm I love chicken.”

“We’re going.” Jonghyun scoops up his chopsticks and takes a bite of the cabbage slaw that came with his pork cutlet. 

“Hey, are you coming to the party tonight?” Key asks stirring his bibimbap and giving Sehun a look. “It’s gonna be fun.”

“I haven’t decided yet.” Sehun tells him giving Hyukjae his sundubu jigae and then Donghae his chaeukbokum. Finally he sits down with his own lunch, a simple bowl of ramen with an egg and cheese added. He picks up his chopsticks and spoon and gives the soup a little stir. “Suho wants me to focus on my studies.”

“There’s nothing for you to study right now.” Key tells him around a mouth full of rice and seaweed. 

“Yeah, how can you focus on your studies when there’s nothing to study right now?” Jonghyun asks elbowing Jinki who barely looks up from his chicken but offers a very supportive. ‘Yeah.’ 

“Suho won’t begrudge you one night of fun.” Donghae tells him gently taking a bite of his spicy pork and cabbage and chasing it with a bite of rice. “He knows you need to be a kid too.”

“So come with us?” Hyukjae adds popping a bite of tofu into his mouth and chewing thoughtfully. “Come have a little fun?”

Sehun looks around at all his hyungs and gives a little nod. “With all of you ganging up on my like this, how can I say no?”

~*~

“What are you doing to celebrate being done with mid-terms?” Suho asks pressing his cellphone to his ear and stepping into the backroom of the coffee shop. He picked up an extra shift and is staying until close but he knows his boss won’t begrudge him a moment on the phone with his brother. 

“I was invited to a party.” Sehun admits trying to squelch the guilt that rises in him at the admission. “I was actually calling to see if you were okay with me going. If not, I’ll just make an excuse and stay in.”

Suho gives a little chuckle and settles at the desk he sits at when counting down the tills. “You don’t need my permission, Sehunnie. If you want to go to this party then you should go and have fun. I only ask that you be careful and when classes start up this coming week you focus on them and do your very best.”

“Of course, hyung.” Sehun says earnestly walking over to his closet and staring in. “Now the only question is, what should I wear?”

~*~

“Why are you still here?” Yixing asks pulling up short in front of the counter at the coffee shop when he sees Suho turn around from making a new batch of brewed coffee. 

Suho’s eyes flick behind Yixing to the man he came in with, he’s tall and handsome with dark brown hair and a caramel colored streak through the bangs covering his broad forehead. The pang of jealousy that starts in his chest quickly expands and bursts, leaving a feeling suspiciously similar to hurt in its wake. He doesn’t want to examine why he’s feeling so lost and confused. He doesn’t want to think about how possessive he had been feeling over the other man. Instead he pastes on his best professional smile and if it’s a little wooden then he doubts anyone would blame him. “And your back. You really that addicted to caffeine?”

“Or maybe I just wanted to see you again.” Yixing tells him with a lopsided dopey grin. 

It doesn’t feel like very good taste to be hitting on him when he’s got a date with him and Suho can’t hide his displeasure, the customer-service smile that usually gets him through the toughest situations sliding off his face to be replaced with a disapproving frown. “Yeah, because you knew I’d still be here.”

Yixing’s smile falters at the naked animosity in Suho’s voice. “A guy can hope.”

“What do you want?” 

Judging by the cup he picks up Yixing can guess that Suho is asking for his order but something in the way his eyes flash and he doesn’t quite make eye contact makes him think the barista is asking a deeper question than that. He flounders a little. How’s he supposed to answer that? He doesn’t know so he doesn’t try. “I was hoping you’d make a couple of your creations for me and my friend.”

Suho purses his lips and gives a little nod, setting down the cup so he can enter the drinks into the computer. “What sizes do you want?”

“I’ll take a small. Too much caffeine this late in the day and I’ll never get any sleep.” Yixing tells him wishing he knew what it was that had killed Suho’s smile and made him so angry. With no answers forthcoming he turns to his friend. “Leo?”

“A small is good for me too.” Leo says watching his friend and the barista interact with a compassionate heart. It’s obvious to him what’s happening but it’s also obvious that Yixing is oblivious. He hopes the barista will allow his friend to make it right and not just hold the moment of misunderstanding against him. 

“Suho here makes the absolute best coffee.” Yixing tells Leo with a hopeful smile handing over his credit card and punch card. 

He knows he should smile at the compliment but Suho can’t seem to make himself offer him any warmth, just swipes the cards and hands them back before turning on his heel and going over to the espresso machine to start the drinks, wracking his brain as he goes trying to figure out just what to make. 

“I’ll go get us a table.” Leo says but then he drops his voice so only Yixing can hear him. “He doesn’t realize we’re friends. He thinks we’re on a date.”

Yixing looks sharply between his friend and Suho, seeing for the first time that Leo has hair nearly identical to Suho’s. Suddenly the way Suho mutters angrily to himself as he pulls espresso shots and steams the milk for their lattes makes sense and Yixing wants to kick himself. How could he be so stupid? “Thanks Leo. I’ll bring the drinks in a minute.”

“Two small one pump vanilla, one pump raspberry, one pump mocha lattes.” Suho says sliding the drinks across the counter as soon as he’s snapped the lids in place. It’s his intention to run away but there’s a hand on his and he looks up sharply to see Yixing looking at him softly. Gritting his teeth he hardens his heart against it and pulls his hand away, wanting nothing more than to disappear and not think about this stupid man who’s somehow wiggled his way into his heart despite his better judgment. “Enjoy your date.”

“We’re not on a date.” Yixing tells him gently, trying to convey with looks alone how serious he is. 

“It’s none of my business.” Suho tells him in a hollow voice. For just a second it looks like he wants to say something else but then he gives himself a little shake and turns on his   
heel again, marching towards the back room. “I’ve got work to do.”

For a long minute Yixing just stares after him but eventually he gets himself together, grabs the drinks and goes to the table in the corner Leo had claimed for them, sliding one of the drinks in front of his friend. He sits down hard in the chair opposite and hangs his head. “He’s so closed off, hyung. What do I do?”

“I think it’s time to prove to him that you’re his soulmate.” Leo tells him taking a sip of the coffee. It’s sweet and biting and absolutely delicious. “My goodness he makes a good latte.”

“He has yet to make me anything I don’t like.” Yixing says taking a sip of his own, nodding in agreement with his friend. “How can I prove to him I’m his soulmate though?”

“Why don’t you dye your hair?” Leo suggests with a shrug. “Didn’t you tell that doctor you work with that you were going to? Well, no time like the present.”

“Yixing takes another sip of his latte and thinks it over. “That’s not a bad idea.”

~*~

“Ooh! They’ve cleared off a dance floor!” Hyukjae says tugging Donghae towards it with a happy smile. “C’mon Hae! We’ve got to dance!”

“You gonna be okay?” Donghae asks pulling back a little so that he slows Hyukjae down in his relentless beeline for the dance floor. 

“Yeah, I’ll be fine, hyung.” Sehun assures him with a smile. He’s caught sight of Jinki, Key, and Jonghyun and although the latter two are attached at the lips again he figures he can go spend some time with them. “Hey guys!”

“Hey Sehunnie!” Jinki says looking up from his cup with glassy eyes and an over the top smile. “You made it! Where are the hyungs?”

“Dancing.” Sehun tells him going over and giving the other two on the couch a wide berth. “Hyukjae zeroed in on it the minute we got here.”

“Figures.” Jinki says with a serious nod. He grabs Sehun’s arm and tugs him towards the back of the house towards the kitchen where there’s a giant punch bowl set up and coolers full of other beverages. “You need a drink?” 

“Uh- sure.” Sehun’s not much of a drinker but he figures one or two won’t hurt. Especially if he stays close to his hyungs. He’ll be just fine. 

“Here.” Jinki hands him a bottle of flavored soju from one of the coolers and leans in close. “If you’re gonna drink stick to the bottles or beer. No punch. That shit will rot a hole in your gut and give you the worst hang-over on earth.”

“Isn’t that what you’re drinking?” Sehun laughs pointing at Jinki’s cup. 

“Exactly.” Jinki agrees. “That’s why I know what I’m talking about.”

“Right.” Sehun pops the top on his bottle and takes a sip. It tastes like strawberries. He gives a little shrug. Not bad. 

“Jinki!” They both turn to see Joon come barreling out of the crowd, throwing himself into Jinki’s arms, hugging the other boy closely. “How are you?”

“Joonie!” Jinki does his best octopus impersonation and wraps three of his four limbs around his friend. “When did you get back?”

Sehun watches the two catch up for a minute, listening in Joon tells Jinki that he just got back to town that day. He’s been in Seoul for school, separating the two friends during the semester. He doesn’t want to intrude on their time together so he quietly makes his way back to the main room. Hopefully Key and Jonghyun will come up for air long enough to keep him company. When he gets there he sees that the person sitting next to them on the couch has gotten up, leaving space for them to slouch sideways on the soft surface, wrapped impossibly close around each other. Giving that up as a bad job he goes around the other side of the room where he’ll have a good view of the dance floor and finds a place to sit down. 

The party is in full swing with people everywhere. He can just barely see Donghae and Hyukjae in the middle of the dance floor, and he smiles at his two hyungs, glad they’re having fun. There’s a few other people he recognizes too. GD, Taeyang, Seungri, and Daesung are dancing in a little group around Top where he just sort of sways awkwardly in the center. Not far from them is another group of guys dancing together. Something about them seems familiar and then with a start he realizes it’s Luhan’s roommates Jaehyo, Bbomb, and Ukwon. He watches them move together for a while until they sort of twist out and another figure dances out of the center, popping and twisting impressively. Sehun chokes on his soju. It’s Luhan. He’s so busy watching his tutor that he doesn’t notice anything else going on around him, just sort of stares and drinks his soju, feeling the first little bits of a buzz in the back of his skull. 

“Hey Sehunnie.” 

He looks up to see Seungri coming towards him, a couple drinks in hand. “Hey Seungri. You done dancing for now?”

Seungri smiles . “Yeah, G and Top ran off to God only knows where and Dae and Tae are too busy all over each other to notice I left. Figured I’d take a bit of a breather and have a drink. I saw you over here and thought I’d come say hi.”

“Well hi.” Sehun says with a smile. He doesn’t know Seungri all that well, just in passing but he feels special that the other man would single him out to talk with all the same especially since the party had been weirdly lonely for him since his friends were all busy. 

“You need a new drink?” Seungri asks extending another bottle of soju for Sehun to take, this one peach flavored. 

Sehun looks down at the soju already in his hand. There’s only a couple swallows left so he tips it back and empties it, setting the empty bottle next to the couch he’s settled on so that he can take the new one from Seungri. “Thanks hyung. You wanna sit down?”

“Sure.” Seungri lowers himself onto the couch next to Sehun, so close their thighs are pressed firmly together and there isn’t an ounce of space between them. Someone on the other end of the couch lurches sideways and bumps Seungri into Sehun even more and the older man just slings an arm around Sehun’s shoulders as if to protect him. “Woah, sorry man. Guess there’s less space than I thought.”

“It’s okay.” Sehun laughs a little and takes a sip of his drink. It’s sweeter than the strawberry and the peach seems to have a chemical aftertaste that he doesn’t really like but he figures it would be rude to put it down now so he takes another drink, this one bigger than the first, intent on drinking it quickly so he doesn’t have to taste it as long. “How were your mid-terms?”

“They were good.” Seungri tells him reaching up and playing with Sehun’s hair. “You never dye your hair, Sehunnie.”

“No, I guess I’ve never felt the need.” Sehun says with a little shrug and another big gulp of soju. 

“Aren’t you curious who your soulmate is?” Seungri asks watching Sehun’s progress on the soju with sharp eyes. 

Another drink and Sehun shrugs again. “I guess. But dying my hair doesn’t guarantee I find my soul-mate either.” He looks up at Seungri’s hair and notices that it too is all black.   
“Aren’t you curious?”

“I think it’s more fun not knowing.” Seungri tells him with a grin taking a sip of his own drink. “There’s so much fun to be had not knowing, don’t you think?”

“I guess.” Sehun’s head is feeling more than a little fuzzy and he’s starting to think he’s made a tactical error drinking his second soju so fast. He looks down at it and sees only another big swig left in the bottom so he figures he’ll just toss it back and be done with it so he can set the bottle next to the other one beside the couch. 

“You need another one?” Seungri asks watching Sehun put the empty bottle on the floor next to them. 

“I better not.” Sehun says with a little shake of his head. He can definitely feel the alcohol now. Normally he has a beer or two with Suho and figured he could drink the same amount of soju not taking into account the fact that soju has a higher alcohol content. 

“Here.” Seungri says pulling another bottle from a pocket and grinning childishly. “I figured one of us would need another pretty quick. You have it.”

“No, I really better not.” Sehun argues wondering at the way the room seems to sway with the people dancing around them. 

“Have one more.” Seungri tells him shaking the bottle a little for Sehun to take. “I’m older than you and I’m telling you to have another drink.”

Sehun licks his lips and wonders how he got himself into this mess. He’s embarrassed to admit what a lightweight he’s being but he knows another drink is a terrible idea. But Seungri isn’t taking no for an answer and he doesn’t want to cause a scene so he reaches out and takes the bottle, twisting off the cap, and takes a small sip. This one is cherry. “Thanks hyung.”

“You’re welcome.” Seungri says with a victorious smile. A new song comes on with an intense bass beat and he leans forward, getting close enough that his lips nearly brush Sehun’s ear as he continues their conversation. “So are you dating anyone these days?”

Little alarm bells are ringing in Sehun’s ears but he doesn’t know how to make a graceful exit and he isn’t sure if his internal alarm is accurate or if the alcohol is making him overly sensitive. For lack of anything better to do he takes another sip of soju. “N-no. Are- are you, hyung?”

“Not right now.” Seungri picks an imaginary speck of lint off of Sehun’s shoulder and then leaves his hand there, boxing the younger boy in. “Got anyone you’re crushing on?”

This feels like a trap and suddenly Sehun feels incredibly claustrophobic. He needs to get out of there. Or at the very least he wants Seungri to back up a bit. He takes another drink, hoping his arm in front of his face will give him the illusion of space. It doesn’t. It just makes his head spin all the more and his vision swim. “Where- where’s the bathroom, hyung? I think I need-”

“I’ll show you, why don’t I?” Seungri says with a beatific smile, misunderstanding Sehun’s request. He gets up from the couch and pulls Sehun with him, looping an arm around the younger man’s shoulders when he sways a little. “C’mon, it’s this way.”

Somewhere in the back of Sehun’s brain where he’s not so drunk he knows this is a terrible idea but he can’t seem to make his body coordinate in order to push away and he just ends up stumbling along in Seungri’s hold, leaning heavily on the older man as they make their way around the dance floor and towards a set of stairs towards the front of the house. 

“Hey Sehunnie! You came!” It’s Luhan greeting him with a huge smile but then he sees how drunk Sehun is and the smile slides off his face turning quickly into concern. He flicks a look at Seungri and there’s something about the way the older man pulls Sehun in just a little closer, hand possessive that sends little red flags up in Luhan’s mind. “Holy hell, you don’t look so good.”

“M’fine.” Sehun slurs and tries to straighten up, wanting to impress Luhan even though he’s completely blitzed. “We were- going- where’s the bathroom?”

Luhan’s gaze flicks to Seungri smirking at the younger man and everything clicks into place. With surprising strength he grabs hold of Sehun’s arm and gives a little tug, looping it over his shoulder so that he’s simultaneously pulled him out of Seungri’s grip and taken on the duty of supporting him. “C’mon. I was just leaving. I’ll get you back to campus.”

“I’ll see him back.” Seungri says stepping close and keeping one arm around Sehun. 

“No need, hyung.” Luhan says with false cheeriness. “I’m headed that way. I’ll take him.”

“As your hyung I’m telling you to leave him with me.” Seungri says letting a little bit of warning slip into his voice, dark eyes boring into Luhan’s. 

“I don’t give a shit if you’re older than me.” Luhan drops all pretense of friendliness. “There’s no way I’m leaving him with you.”

Seungri opens his mouth to argue but he sees Sehun’s friends across the room and although they aren’t paying any attention now they definitely will if he causes a ruckus. He lets go of the younger man and let’s Luhan support his full weight. “Fine. See if I care.” 

Luhan waits only long enough to make sure Seungri isn’t feigning before wheeling Sehun around and dragging him from the main room of the party. “C’mon Sehun. Let’s get you out of here.”

“I need to tell Hae where I’ve gone.” Sehun says looking wildly over his shoulder to search for his friend, twisting hard enough that he nearly upturns Luhan in the process. 

“Woah there, slow down buddy.” Luhan says tightening his grip and steering Sehun towards the door. He gets them outside, the cool spring air seems to do a little good for Sehun and he straightens up a little, supporting a little more of his own weight. “You got his number? We’ll just text him, okay?”

“Oh that’s smart.” Sehun flops his head on his shoulder and gives Luhan a lopsided smile. “That’s why you’re my tutor. Cuz you’re smart.”

“Yeah, something like that.” Luhan says with a little laugh. “C’mon buddy. Let’s get you back to the dorms.” 

They make it a couple blocks back towards campus in companionable silence before Sehun feels the need to talk again. “Seungri made me really uncomfortable.”

Flicking a sharp glance at the younger Luhan just tugs him along, wondering if Sehun realizes the danger he was in. “I bet. He was acting like a creep.”

“He kept asking me if I liked anyone and if I was dating anyone.” Sehun says as if to himself. “Of course I’m not dating anyone. I can’t date anyone. I’ve got a crush the world can never know about.”

“C’mon we’re almost there.” Luhan says navigating the bridge separating the campus with the city. “Not much further now. Then we’ll get you a nice big bottle of water and I think you should sleep for a bit.”

“Water is a good idea.” Sehun agrees turning his head to look at Luhan again. He wishes he weren’t so drunk. Wishes he could tell the other boy how he feels but there’s no way for him to know if he could ever share his feelings. An idea strikes him then and he turns his attention back to the brick sidewalk. “Hey hyung?”

“Yeah?” Luhan asks hearing the change in Sehun’s tone. 

“Do you like anybody?” Sehun asks trying to sound as casual as possible. 

“Here, let’s duck into the QuickMart here and get you some water.” Luhan evades tugging Sehun towards the student building and the little convenience store inside. He leaves Sehun listing on a bench and slips inside, quickly buying two bottles of water before going back out and helping the younger man to his feet again. He pulls his phone out of his pocket and looks at the time. It’s half past one in the morning. “Shit. The dorms are gonna be locked. C’mon. Let’s go to the amphitheater.”

“Why are the dorms locked?” Sehun asks but he doesn’t fight when Luhan guides him towards the huge outdoor amphitheater on the far side of campus by the lake. 

“It’s past curfew.” Luhan tells him with an incredulous little smile. “You don’t go out much, do you?”

“Nope.” Sehun tells him simply. “Suho wants me to focus on school. So I focus on school. This is the first time I’ve gone out.”

“Seriously?” Luhan asks guiding them down a couple of the huge grass steps at the amphitheater so they can sit down out of the way, facing the lake. 

“Yeah.” Sehun sighs plopping down heavily and leaning back in the grass. He takes the water bottle Luhan offers him and takes a sip. “He works so hard to make sure I can be here. I gotta do my best for him, you know?”

Luhan’s heart melts a little. “Yeah. I get that.” They fall silent for a long minute, just sipping their water and pulling their sweaters closer. “Speaking of doing well, how did your Chinese midterm go?”

“Pretty good, I think.” Sehun says wishing he had worn a jacket as well as his sweater but who could have possibly predicted he was going to end up locked out of the dorms. “Man it’s cold out here.”

“Yeah, it’s a bit chilly.” Luhan agrees watching Sehun pull his knees up to his chest and hug them there, resting his chin on his knees. He watches Sehun turn his head to the side and rest one cheek against the torn knee of his jeans and tries to muster up some irritation at being taken away from the party early but he just can’t find it in him. As much as he would have liked to stay, he’s glad he found the younger when he did. He scoots closer to Sehun and slings an arm around his shoulder, pulling the younger man’s head onto his shoulder. “Here. We can keep warm together.”

For just a second Sehun stiffens and thinks he should pull away but Luhan is so very nice and warm and he really doesn’t want to. When else will he ever be able to cuddle with his crush? Never. So drunk or no, he might as well enjoy the moment. Letting his head tilt sideways he rests his cheek on Luhan’s shoulder and loops an arm around the older boy so they’re holding each other, leaning back against the step behind them. His eyes grow heavy and sleep crowds close. “Thanks for helping me, hyung.”

“You’re welcome.” Luhan says quietly resting his own cheek against Sehun’s dark hair. 

“I don’t know what would have happened if you hadn’t come along.” Sehun says sleepily, voice growing faint as he drifts off. 

So he did know. A small snore tells him that the younger has fallen asleep and Luhan just smiles gently, pulls Sehun a little closer, and closes his own eyes. He’s glad he stepped in when he did. With the younger man warm in his arms he tries to settle in enough to get a little sleep himself. And if he enjoys holding him a little too much then he’s just glad there’s no one in his head to know. 

~*~

“How was the party?” Suho asks with a little too much cheeriness in his voice to be authentic. He wants to be supportive of his brother but he’s spent most of the day on the couch with an embarrassing amount of food and sappy movies for company. 

“Uh let’s just say I’m not cut out for the party life.” Sehun evades taking another dose of painkillers and chasing them down with a big gulp of water. “How was your extra shift at work?”

Suho gives a little snort and hugs his pillow closer. “Honestly? It was the worst.”

“Oh no! Why, hyung?” Sehun asks brows furrowing with concern. 

“Yixing came in.” 

“In the evening?” Sehun asks in surprise. “But why is that bad? You’ve been enjoying seeing him since Christmas.”

“Because I’m pretty sure he was on a date.” Suho says ignoring the little voice in his head that reminds him that Yixing told him it wasn’t a date. Honesty pricks him though and he has to elaborate. “He said they were just friends but they have- his friend has hair exactly the same as mine.”

“That doesn’t mean they’re soulmates.” Sehun tells his brother gently. 

“It doesn’t mean he’s mine either.” Suho says and he’s fighting tears. “I shouldn’t care.. Nothing short of what mom and dad had will ever be enough. I don’t know why I bothered getting my hopes up. It was stupid.”

“It’s not stupid.” Sehun says wishing he could hug his brother. “It’s human.”

“Well, human’s are stupid.” Suho says but he’s trying to cheer him up so he tries to smile. “At least it’s spring now. The flowers always cheer me up.”

~*~

“Your boyfriend is here.” Jaehyo yells in Chinese over his shoulder at Luhan when Sehun knocks on the door to their dorm room a month or so after the party. 

Spring is in full bloom and the closer finals loom the more studying he and the older man do together. He had thought that after the embarrassment of getting drunk and nearly assaulted at a party his crush on the Chinese boy would waver some but if anything it just gets stronger. He had muttered an extremely shamefaced apology the next morning when they woke up at the amphitheater covered in a light smattering of dew but Luhan had just brushed it aside, saying he slept great and he’d be happy to be Sehun’s night in shining armor any time he needed. 

“Shut up, Jaehyo.” Luhan says hitting his friend in the back of the head with a pillow and then grabbing up his backpack and quickly fleeing the room, pulling Sehun with him. He grabs on to Sehun’s bicep to steady himself as he slips his shoes on. “Lets go to a coffee shop off campus today. I don’t feel like dealing with those idiots.”

“You don’t think your fan-club will follow us?” Sehun asks more than willing to go along with the plan. He’d do anything the older boy asked him to do. 

“Not if we take a couple precautions.” Luhan says turning to Sehun with a grin. He reaches up and pulls the other boy’s hood over his head before pulling his own up too and then handing over a black mask. “Here, put this on. We’ll pretend we’re celebrities. No one will know it’s us.”

Sehun laughs but slides the mask in place. “Brilliant.”

“One more thing.” Luhan pulls a couple pairs of sunglasses out of his pocket and slides first one set onto his face and then reaches out to put the second on Sehun. “Now it’s perfect. We’re totally incognito.”

~*~

“You think flowers are a good idea?” Yixing asks Chanyeol coming out of the bathroom with a towel on his head, Baekhyun trailing behind. 

“Of course flowers are a good idea.” Baekhyun says grabbing the towel and giving it a tug so that Yixing is forced to reveal his new magenta hair. “It was my idea.”

“Ooh. Nice.” Chanyeol says with a grin. He and Yixing are usually too busy antagonizing each other to actually talk but he finds he likes the other man’s company when he’s not being a total troll. “Why don’t you think flowers are a good idea?” 

“Because he’s a guy?” Yixing says as if there’s some doubt. 

“Doesn’t matter.” Baekhyun assures him now attacking his head with the towel to dry the newly dyed strands. “Flowers are for everybody. Just go in there and give them to him. Be nice and sweet and then go on your way. Then after you leave you can call me and I’ll tell you the next part of the plan.”

“Why won’t you tell me now?” Yixing whines appealing to Chanyeol for support. “Don’t you think I should know the whole plan?”

“Dude, don’t look at me.” Chanyeol says shaking his head and smiling a little. “You and I both know he’s the one who runs things.”

~*~

“How did your quiz go?” Luhan asks Sehun when the younger man appears after class. He doesn’t want to think about how he had been waiting for him. Doesn’t want to think about the fact that he has literally no other reason to be in the language arts building. He just smiles brightly at the younger boy and slings a companionable arm around his shoulders, steering him out of the building and towards the nearest bus stop. 

“It was good.” Sehun tells him with a happy smile pulling out his sunglasses and mask and slipping them on so that he matches Luhan when the older does the same. “Where are we going today? Maeji?”

“Naw, today we’re gonna go into Wonju.” Luhan tells him leading the younger to a couple seats at the back of the bus. “I’ve got an appointment. I figured we could go get coffee and then if you don’t wanna come with you can come back to campus. Or if you want you can tag alone. It’s up to you.”

“What kind of appointment?” Sehun asks sitting in the window seat and telling his heart to chill out when Luhan sits down next to him close enough their legs are touching. Vaguely it reminds him of sitting next to Seungri at the party but this feels so much safer and nicer and he dismisses the similarity. 

“Hair.” Luhan says simply grabbing Sehun’s backpack and pulling out his Chinese textbook. “I need a change.”

“Oh.” Sehun can’t help but wonder if this will be the final moments of his crush. Is he about to find out that Luhan isn’t his soul mate? How many times has he put himself to sleep dreaming about the older boy discovering they’re soulmates? Of course in his fantasies he conveniently forgets that Luhan has never shown any interest in him beyond that of a tutor. “Are you getting it cut? Or are you dying it?”

“Both.” 

~*~

“How’s your bubble tea?” Luhan asks in Chinese as they leave the second story coffee shop and make their way down the block to where the salon is. 

“Delicious.” Sehun responds with a grin, pleased with himself that he’s able to understand and respond in Chinese. “How was your coffee?”

“A little strong.” Luhan tells him bouncing on the balls of his feet. “I think my insides are quivering.”

“I didn’t get that.” Sehun has to admit, not understanding the second part Luhan had said. The older boy just laughs and translates making Sehun burst out in laughter too.   
“Good thing it’s a Friday and you don’t have to worry about getting to sleep for early morning classes.”

“Very good thing.” Luhan pulls open the door to the salon and lets Sehun precede him inside. He goes straight over to the counter and greets the woman with a friendly smile. “I have an appointment.”

“Ah, you must be our five o’clock.” The woman says with a smile. “Come this way. Your friend can come with if he wants.”

“You coming?” Luhan asks giving Sehun an expectant look unsure if the younger will chose to come with or sit in the lobby. 

“Yeah, I’ll tag along.”

“Perfect!”

~*~

“How’d it go?” Chanyeol asks Yixing when he comes into the office, coffee cup in hand. 

“Good.” Yixing says with a grin, so happy he forgets to be a little shit to the doctor. “He’s definitely thinking hard now.”

“I bet.” Chanyeol says with an answering smile. “Baekhyun told me to tell you you aren’t allowed to go in for a week now.”

“What?” Yixing nearly drops his coffee. “But why?”

“He said you need to let the idea marinate.” Chanyeol tells him with a compassionate shrug. 

“But-”

“My God, did hell freeze over?” Kris says coming into the lobby and stopping in his tracks when he sees Yixing’s new hair color. “What’s this?”

“Buzz off, Kris.” Yixing says feeling sour at the thought of not going to the coffee shop for a week. “I change my hair occasionally.” 

“It’s been nearly a year.” Kris tells him with a stern look. 

“Shut up.” Yixing plops down at his desk and glowers at the computer. “At least I’m not boring like you two.” 

“Hey leave me out of this!” Chanyeol argues smile melting off his face in light of Yixing’s ire. 

~*~

“Sehun, what’s that?” Luhan asks looking at his friend when the hairdresser finally sits him back up, a towel turbanned around his head after rinsing the dye out. 

“What’s what?” Sehun asks brows furrowed in confusion as he looks up from the magazine he had been perusing. He’s taken the forty minutes or so while Luhan’s been getting his hair dyed to come to terms with the fact that very soon he’s about to find out that the older boy is not his soulmate. 

Luhan licks his lips, mouth suddenly dry. He looks up at the hairdresser and judging by the look on her face she sees it too. “Take the towel off my hair now please.”

She pulls the towel off to reveal coppery brown hair around the pretty boy’s face, a lone streak of black across the bangs. “I’ll just style it now, okay?”

“Yeah, that sounds good.” Luhan feels like he’s in an absolute daze and he can’t tear his gaze away from Sehun’s face. He licks his lips again. “Well, what do you think?”

Sehun smiles a little and finally sets the magazine aside. “It looks good.”

“You- ah- you ever think about dying your hair?” Luhan asks grateful when the hairdresser spins his chair and he can only see Sehun’s reflection. He wonders how long it will take for the younger boy to notice. On the heels of that thought is another. What if Sehun freaks out? What if – he forces himself to stop. No point in worrying. What’s done is done.

“Naw.” Sehun gives a little shrug. “I figure it will be fun enough whenever my soulmate dyes their hair and I see what color they’ve chosen.”

Sooner than you think, Luhan thinks but he doesn’t say it out loud. Instead he closes his eyes and lets the hair dresser style his hair, wiling his heart to chill out and having very little success. 

“There.” The lady tells him setting down her scissors and brushing the little bits of hair off Luhan’s cape-covered shoulders. “Finished.”

“Looks good, Lu.” Sehun tells him in Chinese with a big grin. 

Luhan laughs a little at that and then decides to continue in his native tongue. “Why don’t you come over here, I wanna show you something.”

“What do you want to show me?” Sehun asks also in Chinese, getting up and going over by the older boy. 

“Look in the mirror.” Luhan tells him and he wonders if he should maybe switch back to Korean but there’s something comforting about speaking Chinese right now and he can’t make himself stop, he’s just glad that Sehun understands. 

“Look in the mirror?” Sehun questions but does as he’s told, eyes going round the moment he catches sight of his reflection. “Oh shit.”

~*~

“I don’t see what the problem is.” Suho tells Sehun after he’s listened to his whole story. “So the tutor you’ve been crushing on since the first day of the semester is your soulmate. How is that a problem?”

“Hyung!” Sehun buries his head in his arms and then decides that’s not having the desired impact on his brain and so he moves his arms and thunks his head on the desk a few times. “You should have seen his face. He didn’t look happy.”

“Maybe he was just surprised.” Suho resists the urge to go into the bathroom and stroke the burgundy streak in his hair, just imagining the new color on Yixing. “You don’t know he wasn’t happy.”

“Hyunnnnnggg-”

“The only way you’ll know is to talk to him.” Suho tells him immovably putting on his best parental voice. “I’ll tell you what. I’ll make a deal with you.”

“What kind of deal?” Sehun asks turning his face so his words won’t get lost on his desk. 

“You go talk to Luhan tomorrow and I’ll give Yixing my phone number the next time I see him.”

Sehun sits up straight at that. “You’re kidding me.”

“Let’s be brave together, yeah?” Suho tells him bracingly. 

“I guess I can be brave if you can.”

~*~

“Yoboseo?” Suho answers absently, admiring his newest flowers from Yixing.

“Does this mean I can finally ask you out?” Yixing’s voice is hopeful and nervous and Suho’s pretty sure he’s never heard anything so wonderful before in his life. 

Suho laughs into the phone. “Yes. And your answer is yes too.”

~*~

“How’d your final go?” Luhan asks pushing away from the wall where he had been leaning, waiting for Sehun’s Chinese final to be over. For the last two weeks he and Sehun haven’t been studying together, not since he got his hair dyed and discovered the younger boy is his soulmate. He had desperately wanted to talk to him about it but every time he tried to get close to him the younger boy would duck away and disappear from sight. With the last of the finals finishing up it’s his final hope to corner Sehun outside of his classroom, he just hopes the younger boy will talk to him this time. 

Sehun licks his lips and lets his eyes drink in the sight of his tutor, his soulmate. He’s missed him these last couple weeks. He’s not sure when they had gotten so close but somewhere between learning about Chinese and polite questions about the other’s day they had and he’s missed him terribly. “It went well. Professor Wang said my spoken final was the best she’s heard in a long time.”

“That’s fantastic.” Luhan tells him letting out the breath he hadn’t known he was holding. “Do you- would you wanna go get coffee with me?”

“We could do that.” Sehun says with a nervous little nod. “You wanna just go here on campus?”

“Let’s go into Wonju.” Luhan suggests, hoping to steal as much time as possible with the younger boy.

“Oh. Okay.” Sehun hitches his backpack up a little higher on his shoulder. “Let’s go then.”

“Yeah, let’s.” Luhan agrees leading the way to the bus stop wishing he knew what to say now that the other boy is talking to him. All through the bus ride and the short walk to the little second story coffee shop they both decided they liked he thinks of ways to say what he needs to but nothing comes to him. They’re sitting each with their drinks, fidgeting awkwardly when he knows even if he doesn’t have the right words he needs to try. “Listen, Sehun-”

“I’m sorry.” 

“You’re what?” Luhan says blinking in confusion. 

“I’m sorry.” Sehun repeats looking down at his hands where they rest around his bubble tea. “I know-” He gestures vaguely towards his hair, “I know this isn’t- this isn’t what you would want. I’m sorry.”

Luhan can’t believe what he’s hearing. “Who said this isn’t what I want?” 

“Huh?” 

“Why are you apologizing?” Luhan asks spinning his coffee up in quarter turns on it’s saucer. “Is this not what you want?”

“What?” Sehun blinks owlishly at the older and tries to figure out what that means. “What are you saying?”

“I like you.” Luhan tells him throwing all caution to the wind. One of them has to start this, it might as well be him. “I have for a while. I’m not really sure when, before mid-terms. I thought for sure there was no way- I decided to dye my hair in order to force myself to acknowledge that you couldn’t be my soulmate.”

“What?” Sehun feels like there’s a fist constricting his lungs. “You- you like me?”

“Yeah, I do.” Luhan grins a little beginning to see what’s going on here. “I lived in fear every time we spent time in my dorm that you’d learn the Chinese word for boyfriend and my asshole friends would ruin everything.”

“I-” Sehun flushes to the roots of his hair. “I thought they could tell I had a crush on you.”

Luhan laughs. “No. They could tell I had a crush on you.”

“Wow.” 

“Yeah.” 

“I go back to Seoul tomorrow.” Sehun tells him looking up with panicked eyes. 

“That’s okay. Yixing invited me to spend the summer with him. I was gonna go day after tomorrow.” Luhan tells him reaching out with a tentative hand and taking Sehun’s in his.. “I’ll just change the date of my ticket and go with you tomorrow. If that’s okay?”

“Yeah.” Sehun breathes and he can’t believe his ears. “That would be great.”

“Perfect.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are love.
> 
> A/N: I know there are gonna be people who are upset about Jonghyun being included here. But here's my feelings on that. He was an amazing human being and the worst thing we can do is forget him or act like he never existed just because it hurts to mourn him. So I keep writing him in my stories. I'm sorry if this upsets you but this is the best way I can think of to honor his memory.


	7. Merry and Bright

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Merry Christmas my lovely readers! I hope you all enjoy this lovely Christmas story of To Dye For! Thank you for all of your love and support. I appreciate each and every one of you! XOXOXO

“Jongdae’s boss is putting on this huge community Christmas party and he wants us to do the treats for it.” Xiumin tells Baekhyun when the other man walks into the bakery a few weeks before Christmas. 

“Good morning to you too.” Baekhyun says in a groggy voice going over to the coffee maker and groaning when he sees the other man hadn’t even bothered to start a pot. 

“C’mon, dude. Coffee is critical in the morning.”

“Try sleeping.” Xiumin says with a shake of his head watching as the other struggles to pull apart the coffee filters so he can make a pot. He watches him struggle a minute longer and then goes over and takes the filters from him, easily peeling one off and fitting it in the basket. “You got it from here or do you need me to scoop the grounds too.”

“Sometimes I hate you.” Baekhyun grumbles but he pushes the coffee tin closer to Xiumin and tries to stifle a giant yawn behind his hand. “Why don’t you make coffee when you get to work so it’s ready? It’s not like you don’t enjoy coffee. You know you’re gonna drink half the pot.”

“Why don’t you sleep at night?” Xiumin counters measuring out the appropriate amount of coffee and then adding an extra little scoop when Baekhyun tugs on his sleeve. He turns to the other man and waggles his eyebrows at him. “You up late last night with Chanyeol?”

“Yes but not like that.” Baekhyun scrunches his eyes shut and rubs away a couple sleepys with his knuckles. “We were decorating for Christmas.”

“Ah yes, first Christmas living together.” Xiumin smiles and goes back to the batch of cookie dough he had been mixing. “Any word how Jongin is doing living with Kyungsoo?” 

“So far so good.” Baekhyun knows he should slip on an apron and start helping but he needs his coffee first so he just leans against the counter and stares at the pot as it gurgles and splutters and just generally takes longer than usual to spit out a cup’s worth of coffee. “I went by the cafe yesterday for lunch and Soo said things were going really well. Said that Jongin scared the crap out of him the other night though when he dropped his gun belt on the floor and it woke him up.”

Xiumin chuckles and switches out the mixing fork he’d been using for a cookie scoop. “Alright, Sleeping Beauty. Get your coffee and come help me scoop these.”

“What kind are they?” Baekhyun asks pouring a cup of what he affectionately calls ‘firsties.’ Coffee in hand he grabs his apron and slips it on, grabbing the cookie scoop as soon as his hand is free. 

“Anise Bells.” Xiumin tells him scooping out a little ball of the white dough with M&M candies dotted colorfully throughout. 

“Shouldn’t they be in the shape of bells then?” Baekhyun’s sleepy brain can’t compute this. 

“Traditionally, yes.” Xiumin concedes with a grin. “But that’s a lot of work and this way there’re more M&M’s per cookie. Trust me, no one will complain.”

“Whatever you say.” Baekhyun takes a big swig of coffee and then starts scooping out cookies. “So what all does Dae’s boss want us to make for this party?”

“Well, you know him,” Xiumin says making a little face, “He wants a bunch of everything.”

“Everything?” Baekhyun presses sleepy brain needing clarification. 

“Yeah,” Xiumin continues used to Baekhyun being a little slow first thing in the morning. “You know pies, cookies, cakes, candies- everything.”

“Sounds like a lot of work.” Baekhyun says not awake enough to contemplate that amount of labor. 

“I guess he’s inviting the entire community. All the cops, small business, clinics, and everyone’s family members too.” Xiumin says with a shrug.

“That’s a lot of people.” Baekhyun doesn’t want to make cookies and pies and cakes and candies, he wants to go back to bed and sleep until new years. “We’re gonna be baking forever.”

“That’s why he put in the order now.” Xiumin says. “Or rather, that’s why Jongdae made him put in the order now.”

“I knew I hated Jongdae.”

“You’d rather he let Kyunhyun put it off until the day before?” Xiumin asks in a bored voice. “I for one do not want to pull an all-nighter and then be expected to attend a party.”  
Baekhyun grumbles and scoops a bit of the dough onto one finger so he can taste it. It’s a weird mix of licorice, vanilla, and chocolate but it’s strangely delicious. “I guess you’re right.”

~*~

“Hi handsome.” 

Suho looks up from the coffee he’s brewing, face breaking into a blinding smile when he sees his boyfriend on the other side. “Well hello to you too.”

“How are you today?” Yixing asks leaning one hip on the counter so he can just watch the other while he works. It’s been a little over six months since Suho finally agreed to give   
Yixing a chance and four months since they started officially dating. Today is no different from every other day he comes into the coffee shop, he thinks Suho looks absolutely breathtaking. 

“Doing good.” Suho pushes the basket into place and presses brew. “How are you?”

“Good now that I’ve seen you.” Yixing grins and his dimple winks at Suho. 

“You’re so cheesy.” Suho tells him with a shake of his head but the huge smile on his face belies his words. “You in search of your coffee fix?”

“That and I have a question for you.” Yixing says, eyes twinkling. 

“Okay, shoot.” Suho tells him scooping up a large cup and zeroing out the total as one of his free beverages as per his boss’ instruction. He goes over to the espresso machine and starts working, knowing that Yixing will follow. 

“One of the lawyers in town is throwing a huge Christmas party.” Yixing begins relocating to the hand-off plane and resuming his leaning. “I’m sure the shop will get an invitation all of it’s own, but I wanted to come and cordially invite you to be my date.”

“An entire evening with you?” Suho asks in a voice of mock horror, his own eyes doing a little twinkling as he teases his boyfriend. “How could I ever endure such a thing?”

“Saint-hood is in your future, Sir.” Yixing tells him taking the coffee Suho slides him. “What did you make me today?”

“It’s December.” Suho says in a ‘well-duh’ sort of voice. “I made you an eggnog latte.”

“It’s like you know me or something.” Yixing says in a wistful voice, taking a sip of the creamy coffee and nutmeg creation. “Oh God, it’s amazing.”

“Glad you think so.” 

“So will you be my date?” Yixing presses sliding his hand across the counter and linking his fingers with Suho’s, giving them a light squeeze. 

“What day is it?” Suho asks chewing on his bottom lip. He’s always a little nervous when he needs to ask clarifying questions, afraid that Yixing will get the wrong impression. But although Sehun is in college, he has to remember that he’s playing the role of parent as well as brother and when the younger man comes home he needs to be available to him and not disappearing every other night on dates. 

“Christmas Eve.” Yixing says holding his breath a little. 

“I can’t.” Suho gives Yixing’s fingers a squeeze, hoping to convey with the touch how sorry he is to have to say no. 

“Because Sehunnie will be home?” Yixing asks rubbing a soothing thumb along the back of his boyfriend’s hand. 

“Yes.” Suho kind of wants to cry. It would be so nice to get dressed up and go out with Yixing and just sort of forget the world and responsibility. He doesn’t begrudge Sehun needing him one bit, he just wishes he could play the role of brother a little more than the role of parent. But they’re all they have and he’ll be damned if he is going to just skip off into the sunset for a romantic evening and leave Sehun on his own. “I’m sor-”

“Don’t apologize.” Yixing cuts him off in a gentle voice dripping with understanding. “He’s your family. That’s important.”

“You’re important too.” Suho says in a quiet voice wishing he could ask the other man for a hug but he knows that would be inappropriate at work. 

Yixing smiles at the other. “I’m glad you think so. Would it change your mind about the party if I said I’d be happy to have Sehun come too? The invitation extends to families too. He’s your family. I know we haven’t been dating long but I view both him and you as my family.”

“Really?” Suho kind of feels like melting. How the hell did he ever find someone so incredibly sweet? “You’d do that for me?”

“Of course.” Yixing tells him, look becoming very tender. “What if I even invited Luhan to come stay with me over Christmas break? That way the kids can be together and we can be together too? We’ll make it a brother’s and boyfriends Christmas.”

“I’m so lucky you never gave up on me.” Suho tells him in an awed voice, eyes shining with emotion. 

“So is that a yes?” Yixing grins giving Suho’s hand another squeeze. 

Suho laughs. “Yes.”

~*~

“What are your plans for the holiday?” Sehun asks when Luhan sits down next to him, thanking him for the coffee he’d ordered with a quick kiss on the cheek. This semester they both seem to be a lot busier and as such they struggle to find time together. Luhan is officially a senior and Sehun is in his second year, diving feet first into his major of performance arts. 

“Yixing invited me to stay with him again.” Luhan tells the other knowing it will make him happy. 

“So I get to spend Christmas with you?” Sehun’s voice is so hopeful, eyes huge. Even though he is the physically larger of the two he sort of folds himself in and revels in being held when Luhan snakes an arm around his waist and tugs him into his side. 

“Yup.” 

“So you and Yixing are coming over for Christmas, right?” Sehun asks snuggling in a little closer and leaning his head on Luhan’s shoulder. 

“I think we had all better choose life and leave that up to Suho.” Luhan says with a chuckle turning his head and kissing Sehun’s forehead. “It never ceases to amaze me how cuddly you are.”

“Shaddup.” Sehun says but it’s without heat and he doesn’t even bother moving. 

~*~

“It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas!” Yixing sings in heavily accented English bringing back the stack of files for Chanyeol. He plops them down on the doctor’s desk and goes on his way, singing loudly. 

“I’m so glad he’s dating.” Chanyeol tells Kris when the tall nurse stops by and leans against the door jab a second later, staring after Yixing’s retreating back. “He’s a much happier person now.”

“Easier to work with, that’s for sure.” Kris agrees with a nod. “Maybe we should get Suho a present to say thank you.”

Chanyeol laughs. “You think he’d find us funny? How often do people get thanked for making their boyfriends less obnoxious.”

“I can’t imagine it’s very often.” Kris says with a little shrug. “But really, he made an unbearable thing… bearable.”

“Don’t I know it.” Chanyeol picks up a fancy looking envelope with gold scrolling on the embossing and the name of the clinic written in ornate penmanship. “Looks like we’ve got some more Christmas cards.”

“Am I the only person who thinks Christmas cards are a waste of time?” Kris asks eyeballing the card that Chanyeol pulls out disdainfully. “I mean, most of the time people don’t even write anything in them. They’re just a waste of time, money, and energy.”

“You sound like a grinch.” Chanyeol tells him giving him a look. “It’s the thought that counts.”

“If it’s the thought that counts then just know I think the whole damn thing is stupid.” Kris deadpans. 

“What’s got you so grumpy?” Chanyeol asks flicking a glance up at the other. Normally it’s Yixing being a grump about simple little things, not Kris. “You’re not normally this sour.”

“Maybe I just hate Christmas.” Kris says raising one eyebrow quizically. 

“I mean, that’s possible but I’ve known you for years.” Chanyeol says slowly setting the card aside. “You’ve never been this bent over the holiday before.”

Kris chews on his bottom lip for a minute and then seems to find his words. “Tao is going to China to visit his family for the whole holiday break. I won’t see him again until mid January.”

Ah. Yeah, that makes sense. Chanyeol puts himself in Kris’ shoes and finds he’d feel a bit grumpy about the whole holiday too if Baekhyun were leaving for a month. “Have you told him you don’t want him to go?”

“Of course not!” Kris says taking the liberty of coming into the office and sitting down heavily in one of the extra chairs. “I want him to see his family, I just- I don’t want him to leave me.”

“Could you go with?” Chanyeol asks trying to think over the logistics of Kris leaving for a month. 

“No.” Kris shakes his head sadly. “Trust me, I already thought of that. But I really can’t take a month off of work even if you would let me. Who knew dating a teacher would have this kind of difficulty.”

Chanyeol reaches across the desk and places a bracing hand on Kris’ shoulder. “I’m sorry, man.”

~*~

“I hate you, Kim Jongdae!” Baekhyun says when the door jingles and in walks his coworker’s boyfriend. “You suck, you know that?”

“Uh- Happy Holiday’s to you too?” Jongdae says looking in alarm between Xiumin and Baekhyun where they stand on either side of the huge wooden work table in back scooping cookies.

“My hands are completely cramped up from scooping cookies but we’ve got another two huge bowls to do and it’s all your fault.” Baekhyun tells him with a glare scooping another cookie and then setting down the scoop so he can stretch his hand out. 

“Why are you blaming me? Blame Kyuhyun!” Jongdae says shrugging out of his suit coat and pulling an apron on to protect his dress shirt. After he washes his hands he grabs another cookie scoop and gets to work helping. “It was Kyuhyun’s idea to use you guys.”

“I don’t care, I’m blaming you.” Baekhyun tells him mashing his lips together in an angry pout. 

“Be nice, Baek.” Xiumin chides him leaning over and kissing Jongdae on the cheek. “Hi babe.”

“Hi.” Jongdae turns and steals a quick kiss. “How was your day?”

“Other than Whiney McWhineyPants here it’s been quite good.” Xiumin says with a gummy smile. “How was work?”

“Okay.” Jongdae says with a little shrug. “Kyuhyun met some guy when he was prosecuting his last case who works at the police department and he’s been much more bearable ever since.”

“I bet that’s a relief.” Xiumin says glad that Jongdae’s boss has someone to distract him from being a giant child. 

“You know what’s not nice?” Baekhyun asks grumpily, mad that the others are ignoring him. “Making enough cookies to feed an entire city!”

“An entire city plus Kyuhyun.” Jongdae says with a little grimace of camaraderie. “Because we all know he’s gonna eat nearly as many cookies as the rest of the city combined.”

“Tell him I hate him.” Baekhyun says in a flat voice. 

“You can tell him yourself at the party.” Xiumin tells him bracingly. “Now help us scoop these cookies.”

Baekhyun groans. “I hate you too.”

~*~

“Do you have to go?” Kris asks Tao as they’re sitting outside the airport in his car. Tao’s bags are packed and sitting in the backseat, ready to whisk him off for a month. “I’ll miss you.”

“I’ll miss you too but I’ll be back before you know it.” Tao says wishing he could stay right where he is and just be with Kris. “I need to see my family.”

“I know.” Kris says in a tiny voice, knowing this is true. “Come back quickly?”

“I’ll be back before you know it.” Tao repeats leaning over and kissing Kris sweetly.

“Then go so you can come back.” Kris tells him with another kiss. “I love you, Tao.”

“I love you too.”

~*~

The night of the party arrives in a flurry of cakes and pies and cookies. By the end of it Baekhyun is pretty sure he should give up baking all together and find another form of employment but he doesn’t say so. Xiumin’s been so supportive he doesn’t want to be too much of an asshole, especially since the other has put up with his whining for the better part of a month now. He’s at least grateful that he got a reprieve from the cookies when it came time to make the pies. Xiumin, although completely proficient at decorating cakes with icing, is absolute shit with lattice work and pie dough and as such the task of making the pies pretty fell to Baekhyun. 

There’s a knock on the door and he calls entrance. “Hey babe.”

“Hello you.” Chanyeol says giving Baekhyun an appreciative look and stealing a quick kiss. “You look fantastic. Ready to go?”

“Almost.” Baekhyun says holding up one finger to indicate he needs another minute. He quickly dashes to the back of the apartment leaving Chanyeol alone in the living room for just a minute before returning with a pair of shiny black shoes in hand. “Just gotta slip these on and I’m ready to go.” 

“Perfect.” Chanyeol says with a grin slipping his own shoes back on. “I can’t wait to see all your guys’ hard work. It seems like you’ve been baking for ages for this.”

“It feels like it too.” Baekhyun says in a dry voice straightening up. “Okay, let’s go!”

Chanyeol opens the door and extends his arm to Baekhyun. “If you’ll come with me, sir?”

“Certainly.” Baekhyun rests his hand gently in the crook of Chanyeol’s arm, fighting the urge to giggle at their silliness. 

~*~

“Wow.” Kyuhyun says in an awestruck voice looking at the mountains of pastries covering the beautifully decorated tables at the town hall. “That’s a lot of pastries.”

“Say thank you, Kyu.” Siwon says walking up and slipping an arm around his boyfriend. 

“Why?” Kyuhyun asks looking up at the other in confusion. “I paid for this.”

“The office paid for it.” Jongdae tells him thanking the universe that Baekhyun and Chanyeol aren’t here just yet because he’s pretty sure Baekhyun would kill Kyuhyun if he could hear him now. He can feel Xiumin’s tension next to him but he at least knows his boyfriend has a little more self-control than the other baker. “They did a lot of work to make this happen for you. You should say thank you.”

“Even if you pay for a service you should say thank you.” Siwon tells him giving him a little pinch on the side. “It’s called being polite. Something you should try every once in a while.”

Kyuhyun pouts a little but he offers Xiumin a small thank you all the same. 

“Glad to be of service.” Xiumin says wondering if this is really the same person who sends Jongdae to his shop a couple times a day just for donuts. 

“You have the best pastries in town.” Kyuhyun offers finally realizing that Xiumin is in fact the baker whose pastries he’s adored for years. 

“That’s better.” Siwon tells him leaning down and pressing a kiss to Kyuhyun’s temple. 

“Thank you.” Xiumin feels a pleased blush stain his cheeks. “I’ve heard how much you like them from Jongdae.”

“Probably in the form of him complaining about having to pick them up for me.” Kyuhyun says in a dry voice to which Xiumin just rolls his lips to keep from laughing. 

“Look, there’s Baek and Chanyeol, Dae.” Xiumin says pointing across the room where the two are talking with Kris. “Let’s go say hi.”  
Jongdae just smiles at his boyfriend but allows himself to be led away all the same tugged by the hand to where the others are standing visiting. “Hi guys!”

“Baek! Did you see the set up?” Xiumin asks giving his coworker a gummy smile “Kyuhyun might be an asshole but this is one hell of a Christmas display.”

“Is that one of yours or Xiumin’s?” Kris asks Baekhyun pointing out a beautiful cake in the very center of the display that looks like a frosted ice castle. The tall nurse looks a little sad around his eyes but it’s obvious he’s trying so no one comments on the fact that he’s alone.

“That’s Baekhyun’s work.” Chanyeol says proudly grinning down at Baekhyun. “Not that your work isn’t beautiful too.” He says to Xiumin not wanting to offend the other man. 

“It’s a joint effort.” Xiumin says graciously. “Most of the time I make them taste good and Baekhyun makes them look good.”

“That’s right.” Jongdae says giving Xiumin’s hand a squeeze.

“Hey guys!” 

They all turn to see Yixing walking towards them hand in hand with Suho, two younger men trailing behind them grinning shyly at one another. 

“Hey there yourself, Yixing!” Chanyeol greets his coworker with a grin. “Hey Suho.”

“Hi.” Suho says with a blinding smile, obviously over the moon to be here with Yixing. “This is incredible!”

“It ended up quite nice, didn’t it?” Kris concedes looking around the town hall at all the decorations. 

“Feeling a little less like a Grinch?” Yixing asks the tall nurse with an impish glint in his eye knowing from the office how much Kris was struggling with Christmas this year. 

“I can appreciate the splendor without being happy about the holiday.” Kris tells him with a cold look, not exactly pleased with the secretary for bringing up his disdain for the holiday. Truth be told he absolutely loves Christmas, he’s just so bummed about spending it without Tao that he’s having a hard time finding joy in it.   
“Be nice Yixing.” Suho admonishes placing a hand on Yixing’s arm causing the other man to look down at him. 

“And who are these two?” Chanyeol asks looking at the two young men who had followed Yixing and Suho to their little gathering. 

“This is my brother Sehun.” Suho says indicating the taller of the two young men. Next he waves a hand at the smaller. “And this is his boyfriend Luhan.”

There are greetings all around and introductions for those who don’t know one another. When everyone knows who everyone is Baekhyun turns to Chanyeol, a question written on his face. “Where’s Soo and Jongin?”

“Hmm.” Chanyeol hums with a frown, looking around the room. “They should be here.”

The others look around too, hoping to see Chanyeol’s roommate and his boyfriend. “Didn’t Kyungsoo do the meal?

Baekhyun groans in sympathy, knowing how much work would go into such a thing. “That’s insane.”

“Each restaurant in town did a part of the meal.” Chanyeol says still scanning the room for his tall roommate and his boyfriend. He finally catches sight of them talking with a group of cops across the room. “It was Soo’s job to make sure everyone knew what they were making and that all the recipes coordinated.”

“Wow.” A couple of people say. 

“That’s such a huge task.” Baekhyun says looking disgusted. 

“And to think you complained about cookies.” Xiumin teases him. 

~*~

At dinner there are twelve seats per table. Kyuhyun is seated at the head table with Siwon and a bunch of the other cops who came as well as their guests. Baekhyun and Chanyeol’s table is about halfway back through the hall. Lively conversation flows between all members of the table, despite some of them having never met before. Jongin and Suho get into a lively discussion about cops and coffee and Kyungsoo chimes in, sharing his secret coffee recipe with the barista when Jongin declares that the cafe owner has the best coffee in town. Further down the table Chanyeol and Kris argue with Yixing about the importance of professionalism in the work place while Sehun and Luhan watch with wide eyes and barely suppressed laughter. There’s one empty seat next to Kris like an open wound but thankfully everyone, including Yixing realizes that to comment would be extremely hurtful. 

The cake is just being served after many rounds of thank you’s and praise to Kyungsoo and the other cooks in town for an incredible meal. It’s Baekhyun and Xiumin’s turn to receive the praise as Kyuhyun stands up with Siwon at the very front and talks for a few minutes, thanking the craftsmen of the city for all their hard work, and cutting the cake so it can be passed among the tables. People get up and mill around, talking among the tables and generally enjoying the splendor. 

“Did you see those flowers?” Suho asks Yixing with a happy smile halfway through desert. “They’re absolutely gorgeous.”

“I thought you liked wild flowers.” Yixing says with a little pout, feigning injury that his boyfriend would praise flowers other than the ones he gave him. 

“I like all flowers, Mr. Insecure.” Suho tells him with a droll look. 

“My friend Minho did all the floral decorations.” Kyungsoo pipes up with a proud grin. 

“He’s up at the head table with my partner, Taemin.” Jongin supplies helpfully. “They started dating after Soo got robbed and Min and I investigated it.”

“They started dating after Minho guilted you into taking Taemin flowers after he got shot.” Kyungsoo corrects sharing a secret smile with Jongin at the memory. 

“That’s true.” Jongin concedes smiling back. 

“Did Tao get to the airport okay?” Suho asks Kris quietly trying to draw the sullen nurse out of his shell a little. He had done well during the meal but he’s withdrawn tremendously with the arrival of desert. 

“He did.” Kris says with a sad little smile. 

“When did he leave?” Suho asks with a compassionate look, grateful that the rest of the table seems to be occupied with other conversation. His heart goes out to Kris and he just hopes he can cheer him up a little. 

“Early this week.” Kris answers thinking how much time there is that has to pass before his boyfriend comes back. “He’ll be gone until mid January.”  
“Or maybe he came back early because he missed you too much.” 

Kris’ head snaps up and swivels around with alarming speed, searching for the source of that voice. His eyes open wide and his mouth opens in surprised shock, his voice barely a breath when he speaks. “You’re here.”

“I came back early.” Tao states unnecessarily shifting from foot to foot in discomfort because the entire table is staring at him and a few people from neighboring tables are as well. He lowers his voice and keeps all his focus on Kris’ beautifully shocked face. “I missed you too much.”

Almost as if he’s in a trance Kris gets up from the table and stumbles over to his boyfriend, pulling him close and kissing him soundly the moment he’s within arm’s reach. The sound of catcalls and hoots of laughter is deafening and after a long minute they break apart to the sound of applause, Kris smiling down at Tao beatifically, heart in his eyes. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” Tao whispers face flushed and incredibly pleased. “Merry Christmas, Kris.”

“Merry Christmas.” Kris says back and then he kisses him again, ignoring the sounds of revalrie all around. The only thing that matters is the man in his arms. He sighs happily. What had looked like the worst Christmas in years turned into the best with the appearance of Tao. Suddenly he sees the whole place through new eyes, appreciation coloring the beautiful pastries, decorations, and flowers. He looks around at everyone, happy eyes taking in all the people he cares about. “Merry Christmas, Everyone.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Comments are love! Merry Christmas Everyone!

**Author's Note:**

> Comments make my day.


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